Untold Stories, Unsung Words
by valkyria422
Summary: A series of oneshots based on headcanons. Latest oneshot summary: Pregame. After Zanza is sealed by the High Entia royal family, his loyal disciples could only wait for their lord to return…
1. Shulk - Beneath the Shimmering Lights

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

1\. Shulk - Beneath the Shimmering Lights

Summary: During their first visit in Satorl at night, Shulk excuses himself from the party. He marveled the scenery around him for a little bit, but no longer does for a certain reason... (Takes place during Satorl Marsh - First Visit, before the cutscene with Dickson by the Ether Lamp)

Pairings: Shulk x Fiora

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

* * *

Satorl Marsh truly is one of the most interesting places Shulk has ever been to. He thought Kneepcap Hill, Gaur Plain, and Believer's Paradise on the Bionis' Leg were the greatest locations he has seen in his journey so far, but Satorl was on many whole new levels.

But it's a double-edged sword in terms of traversing through Satorl. During the day, it was a dreadful place to traverse in. With the ether losing density and scattering to different areas of the marsh and outside, it becomes a hostile place. Fog is always present in the daytime, even though it should only be during the first hours of the day. Hence, visibility is low and monsters can do ambushes easily. How many times have the party have gotten ambushed by the Coppice Quadwings throughout the day? Enough that the cooked meat of the vultures would last a week worth of food. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the entire party, including Reyn with his large appetite equivalent to 2 people.

Hours earlier during the trek, Sharla was complaining on how humid the area was. Dunban seconded the opinion, as the environment decreased his stamina, which was already bad enough as it is with his arm. Shulk mentioned about a growing migraine that would simply never leave as it pestered him. Drinking water and eating didn't help either. And Reyn was nonstop talking about the pungent scent of the bog. Despite these handicaps, the party managed to get pretty far to the beginning reaches of Barren Moor of Satorl without any serious injuries.

It is around 7 PM when the entire marsh undergoes a metamorphosis. The dark night covers the sky. The ether begins to rush out from the ground and water and it becomes dense. From this, a beautiful, shimmering veil of light begins to pervade all around the areas. Lights begins to flicker on the trees. Even the water seems to glow. The terrible pungent odor of the swamp also vanishes with the morning light and fog. Shulk theorized the ether release from the swamp was from the lack of sunlight that the trees and plants in the area were getting. For compensation of photosynthesis, ether was used instead of light, but it was only conjecture. (Seemed convincing enough for the party.) Either way, it was truly a breath of fresh air and more reason to appreciate Satorl in the evening. It is the second night that the group experienced Satorl to shine. The first night was short, as they arrived at the area at around 4:55 AM earlier the day, hence they only got to see Satorl at night for only 5 minutes.

"Oh boy! Twelve hours to experience this awesome place at night!" Reyn cheerfully called out to the party, raising his right arm up as he marched on.

Sharla chuckled. "I agree. We had barely any time to appreciate the scenery earlier today. I'm glad we have this evening to enjoy Satorl."

Shulk noticed a tree to their right, towering quietly before them. The bright ether providing a source of light to see into the distance for enemies. No enemies were seen. He pointed towards the tree, grabbing the attention of everyone else. "Let's take a rest over there. We can appreciate the sights as we recuperate."

"I agree." Dunban replied with a nod. "It appears the more formidable monsters have appeared as well. We should not advance at this time." He noticed how a fearsome, more powerful version of the Coppice Quadwing, which was the Grove Quadwing, appeared at night. Green Ferises were also creeping among them. Getting near their sights would be suicide.

As Shulk, Reyn, and Sharla walked towards the tree, Dickson clicked his teeth. He remembered his visits here in Satorl at night with Mumkhar and Dunban last year, along with other people from Colony 6 and 9 prior. Mumkhar was an extremely stubborn and arrogant man, who loved to pick a fight with monsters and Mechon alike. He especially loved going after the unique monsters that were one-of-a-kind in the region. One monster that he, Dickson, and Dunban encountered was the Indomitable Daulton. Mumkhar set his eyes on those two abominations and yelled, "Hey, look at that faggot wandering out there, owning this place!" and charged right at it, with a utterly annoyed Dickson and Dunban behind him.

Dunban looked at Dickson, noticing how he was lighting his cigarette. It was obvious that he was recalling that memory, which is one that the two really wanted to forget. They were all going to be killed before heading towards Sword Valley, which must be truly a pathetic thing. Let alone losing the Monado to an oversized ape. Thankfully, Dunban was able to topple the beast with Dickson, then making a run for it. Their attacks did nothing, even with the Monado. So it was miracle they escaped with their lives last year. "Bought those memories, huh?"

Dickson let out a puff from his cigarette, with a grey cloud hovering overhead and vaporizing into the night air. "Yeah. At least with these kids I'm sure nothing stupid will happen… I hope."

—

While Dickson and Otharon were off to scout the area and the laughter and giggles from Sharla, Juju, and Reyn were being heard loud and clear, Dunban was busy cleaning his katana which was worn a bit from slicing up monsters from encounters earlier. The blood of the monsters dulled his blade, so he had to resharpen it. Shulk sat next to him, observing him occasionally how delicate the procedure was, along with wondering how Dunban was able to do such a thing with only one hand. His mind however…

"…and that was when I met up with you all. It was a hassle, but I made it. What about yo-"

Dunban noticed Shulk blankly looking at the katana. His eyes weren't at all interested, and his face was completely expressionless. "Shulk?" No response. "Shulk?"

"O-Oh…" Shulk snapped from his absentmindedness and faced Dunban. "Sorry…"

"Are you all right?" Shulk nodded and shrugged. "Yes. I'm fine…"

"You certainly do not. Tell me what is on your mind."

Shulk glanced at the Monado that was leaning against the tree to his left. He looked at Dunban afterwards."I honestly don't have anything really… er…" He looked at the background behind Dunban to make an excuse. "Just admiring the marsh and all…"

"Not surprising… The place is beautiful."

"…Sure is…"

Dunban looked up into the stars. Second time he has been here, and still his breath taken away. He uttered admiringly, "I'll buy your explanation on this place. How instantly the night sky emerged and the fog retreated. The temperature in the marsh got cool too, to the point where it's comfortable. I feel as if a great weight was lifted from me. And my stamina is back."

Shulk was blankly looking at the background behind Dunban, seeing the road lined with the trees. "…My migraine is gone at least… and I can breathe easier…" Shulk quietly replied, though, he didn't sound relieved.

Dunban's mouth folded into a slight frown. "You're not the type to hide things from me, Reyn, and the others, you know. Is it a vision?"

Shulk shook his head. He hadn't had a vision since the fight with the brogs they bumped into earlier. The Monado shield saved their behinds. "No."

"Then?"

"…Mm. I can't explain it… Really."

As soon as he replied, he began to feel a little uneasy. It was strange… Shulk lifted his right hand towards his chest and clutched it for a second, as he felt a slight weight on it that came about out of nowhere.

"Shulk?" Dunban tried to get his attention again.

Shulk nodded no. "I think I should be alone for a little bit… I'll get some fresh water while I'm at it."

Dunban narrowed his eyes at the boy but sighed afterwards. "Dickson did say there's a water source nearby with no monsters around it... Okay. Don't wander too far. And if you get any feeling of danger, head back immediately."

"Right." Shulk stood up and with his right hand lifted the Monado and mounted it on his back. He turned about face and looked at the path ahead of him, illuminated by the ether. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Dunban replied. "Take care of yourself."

As Shulk followed the path ahead of him, Dunban watched him quietly walk towards the marsh. He stared down at his katana, glimmering with the ether above. "...This place... it's eating you alive, isn't it?"

—

He only walked forward. He didn't make any turns to ensure that he wouldn't get lost. Less than of minute of wandering by himself and he noticed how much darker the sky got. The ether also grew brighter, hence navigating wasn't too bad. Throughout the minute of walking, Shulk simply glanced around him, seeing the night sky, the glowing trees and swamp water, and the ether illuminate the swamp. Beautiful sight but… for some reason, Shulk was starting to feel less excited and pleased by looking around him by the minute. Even the Monado felt like it was dragging him down. The crimson blade never bothered him while walking, running or jumping. But now, it's as if he was carrying 3/4ths the weight of Reyn on his back.

Ahead he noticed a deep pool of water. To the right was a river of water coursing through. Shulk also heard the sound of falling water. It must be a source of water that he could retrieve. He proceeded towards to his right, following the shallow river. Seconds walking, he sees the waterfall. It was small, coming from a hole from a cliff. Below was water that didn't seem too deep, but it was deep enough to approximately submerge his legs he guessed.

But that wasn't the thing that caught Shulk's eye the most. It was a large, glowing ether tree. To the left of the small waterfall was a small patch of swamp ground where a large tree emerged. Its roots were emerging from the ground and from the lake water. It was five times the size of the other trees that were in the marsh that Shulk noticed passing by throughout the entire day. And the light… it illuminated the area much brighter than the ether around the air.

"…Ah." Shulk was taken aback by the sight. Without thinking, he proceeded to walk towards it. With his first steps forward, his shoes became completely submerged into the lake water. It was surprisingly cold. Earlier in the day, the swamp water was warm. How did the temperature drop so quickly despite high specific heat? Either way, he just kept walking. The water began to seep around him with every step. His ankles were submerged. Then his entire legs. Shulk reached the deepest end of the lake. His body began to shake a little from the cold water, but he knew after some time, he would grow accustomed to the cold.

He stopped after he had the perfect view of the tree that took his attention. He glanced down at the water before him, noticing the water reflecting the tree itself, and even a bit of himself too. It wasn't too clear though, as the ripples emerging from his movements disrupted the image.

He continued to stare at the tree longer. The ether was growing denser around tree, so the bright light pervading the area began to grow stronger. Also, the air began to glimmer more too. It felt clean. Shulk silently took a breath and held it in, closing his eyes as he did so. "…"

But at the same time, he felt his throat closing in on him. A sheer, depressing thought that has been haunting him the entire time here in Satorl was choking him. He was all alone now with no one in the party near him to see this. It was time. Shulk let out a pained breath… with one small wet tear forming on his right eye.

This beautiful Shimmering Marsh of Satorl… he couldn't experience this place with the one person that he truly wanted by his side…

He mentioned to Reyn that two voices have been echoing in his head: one to simply move on and live for Fiora, and the other to kill all Mechon with the Monado. The latter came about, with second half of the former partially occurring. It was strange, though. The second voice was quite… vicious. And much more vocal the the former. He hasn't heard that menacing voice since the day of departure from Colony 9. But now, the distant voice was whispering to his ear now of all times in Satorl.

_It is all because of them. Those cursed Mechon. They took her away from you. You will never set foot here with her next to you. Let alone the other locations you will soon see in Bionis. Because of those cursed Mechon._

The repetition of the word "her" was stabbing Shulk repeatedly. Far worse with the addition of "Because of those Mechon." It was eerie, as he heard his own pulse beat louder and louder.

_Kill all of the Mechon. Kill them and Mechonis. They must pay for what they have done._

His right hand closed into a fist and he clenched it hard. Every second it grew harder, to the point where he can feel his own nails digging into his palm.

_Bring them hell._

Shulk slowly opened his eyes as he no longer heard that voice in his head. The tear slowly falling down his cheek, and he opened his right hand, his palm marked with the nails that dug through them. He could have sworn that along with the water he stood upon, blood was creeping out from his palm. He lifted his right hand away from the water, raising it toward his face. Gently, he ran his wet hand down his face, stopping at the lower half. He then covered his mouth hard, trying to hold in his sobs.

The Heir to the Monado's vision suddenly grew sharp. He saw everything around him clearer than ever. Even the ether grew much more brightly. Obviously he couldn't see it for himself, but the boy's eyes suddenly... glowed. A bright blue. And his pupils grew small. Staring straight ahead at the large ether tree with narrowed eyes and a frown, four words escaped from his covered lips in a muffled whisper.

"I'll kill you all."

* * *

Headcanon: The image released by Monolith Soft of Shulk in Satorl has him facing away from the viewer. The reason is that he's crying. Satorl at night is the most beautiful place he has seen in Bionis so far, but he couldn't and will never be able to experience the place for the first time with Fiora by his side. [Before events of Prison Island - First Visit]

**A/N: This was the first headcanon I've made while playing the game back in December during my first walkthrough. I noticed the official image released by Monolith Soft of Shulk standing in the water in Satorl Marsh. I had to wonder, why face away from the viewer? I considered about how he was astounded by Satorl through that Heart-to-Heart with Dunban. Then I thought, "I'm sure Shulk would have had a nice romantic scene with Fiora here in the marsh. Waiiitttt..." Then the depressing headcanon came to life. I'm terrible. A minor headcanon was slipped in here, which was the one with Mumkhar, Dickson, and Dunban. Oops.**

**If there's one thing that the mere thought of sends chills down my spine, its the way how Adam Howden provides a beautiful and ridiculously angry voice for Shulk. Those very lines from the beginning of the game where he yelled, "I'LL KILL YOU!" and "DIEEEEE!" was just... damn. Best angry voice I've ever heard. So I had to imagine how Shulk/Adam Howden would sound, pissed and vengeful sounding... Hence the final line of this oneshot. Oooh... (The fact he does this for Zanza too. He makes an awesome antagonist voice as well.) Kudos to Adam Howden, Carina Reeves, Rufus Jones, Jay Taylor, Kellie Bright, Jenna Coleman, Wayne Forester, and the rest of the cast for dubbing this grand game.**

**Not sure when or which headcanon oneshot will be released next. The current ones in progress are:**

**-Melia - Riki's Tenderness / Summary: There's more reason as to why Melia loves to cuddle Riki. (Based on a Heart-to-Heart event)**

**-Dunban, Shulk - Necklaces / Summary: As everyone is wearing their swimsuits in Eryth Sea during a reprieve, Sharla notices the necklaces Shulk and Dunban are wearing. Not only are they of a unique material and designs, but only those two are wearing it. Shulk explains why.**

**One is writer's block while the other is in progress itself. We'll see what comes first. Don't know when the release will be though, cause school, Final Fantasy Type 0, and Xenoblade 3D will be quite distracting.**


	2. Dunban, Shulk - Necklaces

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

2\. Dunban, Shulk - Necklaces

Summary: As everyone is wearing their swimsuits in Eryth Sea during a reprieve, Sharla notices the necklaces Shulk and Dunban are wearing. Not only are they of a unique material and designs, but only those two are wearing it. Shulk and Dunban explain why. (Takes place after events of Prison Island - First Visit, before events of Valak Mountain)

Pairings: Dunban x Sharla x Shulk (Friendship)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

The last few days the party experienced were quite eventful. The trial in the High Entia Tomb, the invasion of the Mechon, meeting Zanza, fighting Metal Face, meeting Fiora, and the succession of Melia were so much to take in. It was Dunban who suggested the party to relax, to everyone's surprise. And what better place to relax in than Eryth Sea. The scenery and weather was amazing enough, and the party didn't get a chance to fully enjoy the place since their first visit.

Melia told the party of a cave that was just utterly beautiful. Called Faras Cave, sparking crystals and glimmering water cover the cave, as well as a patch of land with fragrant flowers. The issue was that it was far out southwest of Eryth Sea, with the closest area being Hovering Reef 9. Despite the distance, the party set out for the place.

Before heading out to Faras Cave, the party needed to change. It was quite an awkward moment with the party as they emerged from the Syrath Lighthouse in their swimsuits. Throughout their journey, everyone was wearing swimsuits beneath their regular clothes. All they simply had to do was remove them. The boys went first, with the girls waiting behind the lighthouse facing Hovering Reef 5. Riki didn't really need to change at all considering he's a Nopon, so he decided to join Sharla and Melia. Sharla couldn't help but smirk throughout the entire time waiting, noticing Melia turning red. It was painfully obvious she was nervous to see Shulk wearing only his swimsuit. When the party regrouped, Sharla and Melia commented positively for the boys' appearances, though Reyn seemed to take it more happily than the others. When it was the girls' turn, Sharla and Melia were greeted by hollering and whistling from Reyn, leaps of joy from Riki, simple nods of approval from Dunban, and modest compliments from Shulk, who was blushing madly.

After all that was said and done about each others' appearances, it was time to set off for the cave. And the quickest way to get there was to jump off the reef, and it was quite funny to have Sharla kicking Reyn and Riki from it. Dunban and Shulk had to hold onto Melia when jumping off the reef, as she had a great fear of heights. She was so terrified that afterwards, Shulk had to ferry Melia across the water the rest of the way towards the cave. Fortunately, Riki kept her company and was a secondary floatation device for Melia as Shulk needed to rest from swimming time to time. Riki is surprisingly buoyant, even with the added weight Melia added onto him. Shulk needed time to simply float and rest as the Monado he held was a pain to carry. Throughout the entire swim, he held onto it for dear life. If he accidentally dropped it, it would sink to the bottom of Eryth Sea. How on Bionis would they ever retrieve it? (Or it would luckily end up in Riki's village. Wouldn't count on that though.) Reyn eagerly volunteered to have Sharla cling onto him to rest. Dunban knew the fishy motive though…

After hours of swimming, the party reached Faras Cave. And it was just as Melia described it. The cavern was shining with crystals and the water glowed like stars. And the shore had beautiful, fragrant flowers with patches of fresh green grass scattered around. The party did not hesitate to reach shore, as they were exhausted and excited to settle in. After about fifteen minutes of simply lying down on the shore to regain their strength it was time to enjoy the rest of the day.

As Reyn started a little game of volleyball with Melia with Riki being the volleyball, Sharla found herself resting on the shore of the cave. After some time simply lying on her back and closing her eyes to relax, she found herself glancing at Dunban and Shulk, who were busy sitting at the edge of the cave with half of their body submerged in the water. They were sitting at the warmest part of the cave where warm water was emitting from the area.

Of all the things to stare at, it was those necklaces that the two wore. She has never seen those stones like that before. From the distance, it looked like any ordinary rock. But as she peered in closer, they had a strange shine to it. Let alone the design being so intricate.

She stood up and approached the two at the edge. Dunban heard the sound of footsteps on the sand, turning to see Sharla. Shulk noticed her too. "Sharla, it's nice of you to join us. Come sit down." Dunban invited, offering his hand.

"Uh, thanks." Sharla didn't want to sit deep in the water, so she sat on the shore, with only her legs being submerged. She was about 2 feet away from the two young men.

Shulk asked, "Why don't you come closer?"

"Er… it's fine. I hate the feeling of leaving the water and getting cold afterwards."

Sharla scratched her left ear as she gathered her thoughts on how to ask such a question. Hopefully it wasn't too personal to ask. "Um… there's something I noticed about you two…"

"What is it?" Dunban asked, with the two putting full attention on Sharla.

"It's… those necklaces your wearing. It looks pretty ordinary from afar, but now I look at it closely..."

"O-Oh. These…" Shulk looked down on his chest to see the the silver necklace he wore. It had a sort of cross symbol on the design.

Dunban asked, "Ah. What would you like to know about them?"

Sharla knew that she would have to get closer to see the necklaces themselves in greater detail, which means that she'd have to put up with some shivers later from leaving the water. "Hmm... Fine, it looks like I'll join you two." Sharla moved a little to approach the two. She knelt down next to Dunban, asking, "May I touch it?"

"Go right ahead."

Sharla reached out to Dunban's chest and lifted the necklace a little. It had a triangle shape in the center of it, with one of the sides facing directly down and the other two on the left and right side. She rubbed her finger gently across the necklace. The stone was very smooth and nice to touch. It shined as she moved it around with the light reflecting off of the stone. Sharla peered in closer to see that Dunban's necklace was not only a silver color, but there was a very, very faint tint of light blue, green, and yellow on each side of the stone of the stone respectively at different parts of the triangle. "Goodness... this is quite beautiful."

"Thank you." Dunban replied, looking down on the necklace. "You should have seen it when it had its full color a year ago. Too bad the color faded."

Sharla let go of the necklace and raised an eyebrow at Dunban. "The color faded? Like... rubbed off?"

Shulk shook his head. "No." Sharla sat down next to Dunban, the water now covering her abdominal region. The water is quite warm and relaxing. Sharla felt some of the pain from the lactic acid buildup in her aching arms and legs melting away.

"Hmm..." She crossed her arms. If the color wasn't rubbed off, it couldn't be painted. If the color was coming from the stone itself, then the stone could only be one thing. "Those necklaces you two wear... they're ether crystals."

Dunban grinned. "Indeed, these necklaces are ether crystals."

Sharla replied, "No wonder they look familiar. But… different. The faded colors of your crystals are silver, as opposed to a dull color of the respective element. Why is that?"

Dunban answered Sharla, saying, "Well, I'm sure you know that all ether crystals have one element associated with them. Either fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, or ice."

Sharla sighed. "Of course. Elementary school knowledge."

Shulk was grinning with his smile a bit wider than usual. "Well, what if I told you if there were ether crystals out there that have more than one element embedded in them?"

Sharla's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. "I've never heard of that... Let alone seen one." It was pretty baffling to her. She lived in Colony 6 where right under the colony was the largest ether deposit in Bionis. All crystals there were only of one element. But… more than one? Was that even possible?

Dunban lifted his necklace for Sharla to look at again. "This crystal had an ice, wind, and earth elemental ether embedded in it." Dunban lowered his necklace as Sharla faced Shulk.

"And yours, Shulk?"

Shulk answered as he lifted his own necklace with his right palm, saying, "Hm… it had the basic four."

"Yes." Dunban replied. "Yours was much more unique, Shulk."

It all came together for her. Sharla crossed her arms and came to the conclusion, saying, "For you two to be wearing such crystals… It must be the fact that you both had a case of ether deficiency?" Sharla made such a guess after considering on what she did to heal Melia back in Makna Forest.

Dunban smiled, as nothing medical related can get past the party's medic. "You are absolutely correct. Well, mine was just to ease and speed up the healing process of these burns I suffered from the Monado. It needed ice ether to stabilize the temperature, wind ether for more oxygen flow in the blood, and earth ether for skin repair. If it weren't for this lovely accessory, I wouldn't been able to save your hides in Colony 6. It sped up the healing process."

Sharla turned to Shulk, who seemed to be recalling on his reason for wearing such a crystal. His habit of touching his chin with his right hand and his left hand touching his right elbow took over. "What about you, Shulk?"

Shulk cleared his throat. "Well… your guess definitely applies to me." He positioned both of his arms in front of him and folded his hands beneath the water. He faced Sharla and began his story.

"When I was found by Dickson in the shrine where the Monado was found, I suffered severely from the journey, let alone whatever on Bionis happened there. When I came to back to Colony 9, I was literally a sick kid 24/7 with all sorts of medical problems. Dehydration, high fever, hypothermia, weak pulse, dyspnea… you name it. And these symptoms would appear out of nowhere. And it was not due to the environment."

"Goodness…" Sharla grimaced. To think that this boy survived all of these symptoms and illnesses and live through the pain. The thought reminded of the time when some residents of Colony 6, including Juju, was sick from water ether deficiency. They were constantly dehydrated and had fevers. It was quite difficult to treat them, as their temperatures reached dangerous levels.

Dunban recalled those awful days. Shulk was literally bedridden for months, suffering all of those illnesses. He would visit Shulk every day, seeing him either be sweating a river and his whole face red, shivering uncontrollably, his face pale, or his breaths labored. There were times he was able to relax a bit when his symptoms died down from some treatments. But then the next few hours or the next day, a different symptom appeared. Doctors from multiple colonies, even ones that were traveling, all examined Shulk and could not figure out a permanent cure for his symptoms. Strangely, Shulk was able to hang onto his dear life with each symptom, even if multiple symptoms struck him at the same time. It was even more baffling that he was able to survive the fatal boundaries. For example, his temperature reached the fatal 108 degrees Fahrenheit, yet he didn't die.

"I'm glad those days are long gone..." Dunban muttered. "It was hard seeing you suffer from your symptoms. Additionally, you made Reyn worry and Fiora cry so much."

Shulk grasped his necklace and gripped onto it with some pressure. "Yeah... it was awful. To be honest, I had faith that I would be cured sometime soon but..."

He squeezed his necklace even tighter. "When it got to the point where simply breathing felt like a large blade repeatedly stabbing me with every breath I took, let alone being unable to do so in the first place, I wanted to give up and die. But I couldn't... I don't know why."

"Shulk..." Dunban was beginning to remember that one time. It was about a few weeks after Dickson found him. Shulk had his high fever in addition to dyspnea. He was crying with his own sobs being cut short because of his symptoms. Dunban felt like the floor fell apart from him when he heard the little boy whisper, "It hurts so much... I don't want to be like this anymore...! I want to give up...! I don't want... to be awake anymore...!"

"That's... so awful..." Sharla muttered. She had seen some patients suffer such symptoms Shulk experienced, but not multiple symptoms at once. Suffering such illnesses has a debilitating effect on mental, emotional, and psychological well-being. How on Bionis was Shulk able to hold on, especially suffering at a young age? If anything, Sharla was admiring this inner strength and willpower the boy had within him. She'd seen it enough in battle so far but, at such a young age...

Shulk resumed his story, loosening his grip on the necklace. "Dickson theorized that something happened in the tower where the Monado and I were found that caused my body to change. He guessed the ether was drained from me, and my body was no longer able to efficiently drain ether from the environment afterwards due to maintaining my body with only the small amount left during that comatose state I was in in the tower."

"So in order to counter that, a very potent ether crystal should be near me always. What better way to have an ether crystal close to someone by wearing it? At first, Dickson used any other pure ether crystal to have me wear. He made me wear a wind ether bracelet and a water ether necklace. It worked for a good few hours, as dehydration and dyspnea symptoms were gone for a while, but the ether quickly drained. And those symptoms appeared again soon afterwards."

"Then Dickson decided to try using the rare ether hybrid crystal that he found. It had a strange glow despite its small size. It was a crystal that each corner had the colors red, blue, yellow, and green on each side. Dickson carved it into a necklace with a design he made up and made me wear it. And it was a miracle. The ether usage was very small, and it was able to ease my symptoms. They were still there, but they gradually healed. After about a year of wearing it, I was completely free of symptoms, and even regained my strength back. Dickson guessed that the hybrid crystal was many times more potent than a pure ether crystal, that only a small amount of absorption was needed to ease the ether deficiency in my body."

Sharla was intrigued by the work Dickson has done to help Shulk, let alone learning a few more things about ether crystals. _"I would like to ask him about more details about these discoveries of his..."_ She muttered to herself in her head.

Shulk sighed after his long explanation to regain his breath. Dunban laughed. "Goodness, you're tired from telling your little story?"

"Oh, can it, Dunban. I'll finish my story, thank you." Shulk growled. He was still exhausted from the long swim earlier.

"To play it safe, Dickson made me wear that necklace and was told to never, ever remove it. That crystal has been a part of me ever since. Throughout the years though, the light of the crystal was fading, and it became worrisome that I would have ether deficiency again, so I was closely monitored when wearing it. No symptoms. Even when the ether crystal lost its light after 8 years of usage, I never experienced any illness or symptom due to ether deficiency. So, Dickson and the doctors concluded that the crystal was able to heal my body in not only providing ether, but to repair my body's function of absorbing ether from the environment. This breakthrough was amazing in the medical field, as a hunt for such crystals took place afterwards cause of this discovery. Even after the crystal lost its light, I still always wear this necklace as a good luck charm. It's a reminder that Dickson saved me that day in the tower, and healing me from the ether deficiency I suffered."

Sharla smiled. "Wow. This crystal is very, very powerful… If more people had this, then ether deficiency-related health problems would be all gone..."

Shulk nodded. "Mm hm. But it's so rare…"

Dunban added, "I don't know where or how Dickson got such crystals... he even won't even spill the beans on where he got them. I asked both 13 years ago and last year, only saying he'd just be digging around. I swear I'll get the information from him on-"

"LOOK OUT!" A sudden yell from Reyn cut off Dunban.

From that warning, Dunban simply shifted his weight and leaned towards his left with his back still against the cavern wall towards Sharla.

Alarmed, Sharla yelled, "H-Hey!" She was turning a slight red as he saw Dunban's arm near her right breast.

Shulk didn't have time to process that warning, and he felt something fly past him at high speed."What the-"

THUD. And a splash afterwards. It was the Heropon who flew by, and he created a small dent on the cavern wall.

Shulk was staring at his left down at Riki, who was groaning and his eyes moving rapidly around in circles."Goodness, Riki! Are you all right?" He picked up the Heropon floating face up on the water and placed him on his knees.

"Oooh... Riki is very dizzy...!"

Dunban leaned back to his original position and sat upright. He placed his left hand on his chest and bowed a little, saying, "I apologize that I almost touched you... er... there."

Sharla shook her head. She laughed, replying, "It couldn't be helped. If it was either Shulk or Reyn, it would have been far worse."

Dunban also laughed, scratching his head. "Indeed... Good thing that wasn't the case."

"Oi! You three! Join us for some volleyball!" Reyn called out to Sharla, Dunban, and Shulk, waving his arms back and forth.

"Reyn! Let Riki rest! The poor Nopon is getting motion sickness!" Melia was jogging towards Shulk and Riki.

"That furball can handle a bit more rounds! Besides, think of it as a good endurance practice!" Reyn replied, his habit of rotating his right arm taking over.

Dunban chuckled, standing up from the water. It was time to stretch after a good time simply sitting and talking. "Hm, volleyball with one hand. Sounds like an interesting challenge..."

Shulk stood up as well, carrying the dizzy Nopon with his two hands. "Dunban, are you serious? What about Riki?"

"You heard Reyn. But yes, let's give him a chance to rest a bit. Come, let's join Reyn and Melia."

Sharla watched Dunban, Shulk, and Riki head towards Melia and Reyn. She couldn't help but crack a smile on her face. This day of relaxing was far more interesting than she thought it would be, as it was a pleasant time to learn about Dunban and Shulk. Those two have gone through such painful hardships. It was only right for her to work extra hard in battle to keep those two healthy and safe.

"Know I've always got both of your backs..."

Sharla stood up from the water and walked towards the rest of the party. A game of volleyball... Why not?

* * *

Headcanon: Dunban and Shulk are the only two characters in the party who wear necklaces beneath their clothes and wear it 24/7. Those necklaces are actually a rare type of ether crystals, which have hybrid elements. They are more powerful than pure ether crystals and have the ability to heal injuries and provide ether from ether deficiency. Dunban's necklace is a hybrid ice, wind, and earth elemental used for speeding up the healing process from the Monado's burns. Shulk's necklace is a hybrid of the 4 main elements used to cure of his ether deficiency from Ose Tower. The hybrid 4 elemental crystal necklace Dickson gave him over time cured all of his illnesses and sickness. Even though the light has faded, Shulk wears the necklace every day and never removes it as it is a reminder that Dickson saved his life and believing it is a good luck charm.

**A/N: This was a long headcanon, oops. This came about during me playing around with the party's costumes cause heh... they all look amazing in their swimsuits. It got to the point where I did my second playthrough of Xenoblade and my first playthrough of the 3DS version in swimsuits only. **

**I noticed this was not as detailed as my previous oneshot. This was done in a rush and half asleep so...**

**The next chapter will be a follow-up headcanon relating to this one-shot:**

**Dunban, Shulk, Sharla - Renewed Strength / Summary: A follow-up headcanon following the chapter Necklaces. After the events of Mechonis Core, Shulk realizes the true significance of the necklace he's wearing. Dunban and Sharla need to cheer him up, as his revelation is quite grim...**

**Indeed Xenoblade 3D and Final Fantasy Type 0 are taking my time, as well as evil school. I'll be working on the two follow up headcanons though. The one mentioned above is half-way done, but currently in writer's block.**

**I'll be doing sketches of cover images and sometimes scene images for each one shot. Since the first headcanon already has an official image, I'll be sketching a scene image or two for that one. The second oneshot will have a cover image and a scene image as well. Check on my profile for the images for any future uploads.**


	3. Dunban, Shulk, Sharla - Renewed Strength

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

3\. Dunban, Shulk, Sharla - Renewed Strength

Summary: A follow-up headcanon following the oneshot _Necklaces_. After the events of Mechonis Core, Shulk realizes the true significance of the necklace he's wearing. Dunban and Sharla need to cheer him up as his revelation is quite grim, and the guilt of simply being alive is devouring him whole... (Takes place before the infiltration of Bionis' Interior.)

Pairings: Dunban x Shulk x Sharla (Friendship), Reyn x Sharla (Minor), Shulk x Fiora (Minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Shulk sat upon the edge of the platform of the entryway leading towards Junks with his feet dipped in the water. The Machina Village was eerily quiet and desolate at night despite the fact Junks was always up and running. Additionally, considering the events of Colony 6 and Mechonis itself, everyone is quite shaken up, even here in the Fallen Arm.

It had been about one day since he awoke from his coma. After that insane adrenaline rush after fighting the waves of Telethia and the confrontation with Alvis and Dickson, Shulk collapsed again for a few hours. Good thing it was only from exhaustion this time. As soon as he woke up and the supervision of quite literally everyone in the party, he needed time for himself.

Shulk stared at his own reflection in the water, which was surrounded by the starry night sky above him. Only his upper body was undressed since Linada replaced his bandages earlier in the day. When he excused himself to be alone, he got a few red blushes from Fiora and Melia in passing. He couldn't help but blush himself too, but after leaving them, his face immediately turned grim. While walking towards the edge of the platform of Junks, a thought got to him that made his throat close in on him.

It'll be a long time when that wound fully heals, but a scar will forever be carved onto his chest for the rest of his life. That scar was made by the very person who "saved" his life fourteen years ago, and the person who shaped his interests and hobbies. That person who made him... him.

As soon as he thought of that, Shulk immediately had to sit down and had to cover his mouth, feeling a wave of nausea from that ugly, depressing thought overlapping his disgusting taste of his mouth of anesthesia that hasn't worn off over 24 hours earlier. What's more, that sight of the necklace that he's still wearing above the scar was even more of an insult. A few seconds of simply trying to regain his composure, the awful feeling subsided. The boy sighed.

Suddenly, a spark of pain came about in his chest. Shulk clutched his chest with his right hand over the area where Dickson put a hole in him. "Nngh… how much longer will I have to put up with this…?" Shulk muttered.

His chest still ached from the damn bullet Dickson pierced him with, let alone the surgery he went through by Linada to remove it. He always feels a dull pain with every passing second, but it was bearable. Sometimes, however, a flash of sharp pain may arise out of nowhere, as if a small knife was stabbing outwards. It lasts for a few seconds and subsides, but it was enough to disrupt anything Shulk was doing.

After the pain left him, he sighed and lowered his hand. So many revelations hit him within the last few days. Zanza and Meyneth's conflict, the true history of the world of Bionis and Mechonis, the High Entia and Telethia, the three disciples of Zanza, Fiora's condition. And…

"The days have been hard on you… take it easy." Shulk didn't budge, despite hearing the advice from Dunban a few feet away from him. He also heard another pair of footsteps besides Dunban's getting louder and louder.

"Yeah… I don't want you getting knocked out and scaring us again." Sharla added, the sound of her footsteps and rifle heard alongside each other.

Shulk lightly kicked the water. Droplets splattered around him and he watched the ripples reverberate the lake. Dunban and Sharla sat next to the boy on each side, with Dunban to his right and Sharla to his left. They decided to join Shulk and place their feet in the water too, minus the kicking.

The boy let out a slow breath, still staring at the water. "…Remember the conversation we had back in the cave Melia showed us in Eryth Sea?"

The two nodded. "A very pleasant discussion about our pasts." Dunban answered. "We all got to know each other a little more."

Sharla added, "It was a good time we had. We should have more times like that, you know."

Sharla and Dunban were waiting for Shulk to continue on with what he was trying to bring up, but nothing. He was silent and he stopped kicking the water below him. His face was lowered and his bangs covering his eyes. Dunban noticed Shulk's fingers on his right hand except his thumb shaking a little.

"…It seems… I finally made the connection as to why I was so sick back then... It's a theory, but it seems quite plausible…"

Shulk raised his hand to hold onto his necklace. He gently tugged down on it, making his neck lower a bit. He wanted to rip the damn thing out his neck, but it would require great strength to do so, as the lanyard was really, really durable. After all, he wore it for fourteen years and was still in great condition. Additionally, he outgrew the necklace, so it was so high up on his neck that it would be difficult to simply rip off. The only way to cut it was with a sharp knife. The thought crossed his mind but…

Dunban and Sharla's face grimaced. They were both able to make a connection instantly. A wave of terrible, awful memories of the events in the Mechonis Core began to rush back to them. Shulk obviously doesn't remember all of exact words Zanza and Dickson revealed to them, as he was lying bleeding, in shock, and in pain at the time Dickson shot him, let alone drifting out of consciousness as soon as Zanza left his body. But Sharla and Dunban remembered the words Zanza and Dickson told them, and it echoed back into their minds:

_"There was never anyone called Shulk to begin wtih!"_

_"The people who found the Monado, and freed it, awoke Zanza. He sucked the lives from them so he could live. Shulk was among them."_

_"…an empty shell. He appeared to live because I became his life force."_

_"Call that corpse a friend? Don't make me laugh!"_

Shulk lightly kicked the water again and he continued. "The theory is that since Zanza became my life force, my body had to accommodate two souls. Let alone myself being a reanimated corpse, the ether required to maintain homeostasis is far too much… Hence all of the illness I've suffered."

After explaining his theory, Shulk realized something. Two souls… He began to grin as a plethora of questions was flooding his mind. "Haha…"

"S-Shulk…?" Sharla was growing confused by the second.

How could he be laughing at a time like this? She leaned to her right and lowered her head to get a better glimpse of Shulk, his head still hung down. She gasped quietly as she noticed something odd. Shulk's eyes were usually shown to be full of vigor and life. But this time, his eyes were a very dull blue… She sat upright again, her lips forming a frown. Those eyes...

Dunban was beginning to frown and his lips were tightening. Dunban, knowing Shulk being somewhat pessimistic, has something witty to say when he is upset.

"So… this "good luck charm" that saved me was only for Zanza's sake… And the hole in my memory of the first four years of my life… it was because I died and never got those memories back… Or should I say, the person before me died…? Was I born after Zanza took over and simply a new personality, which is me, came about? …If I share the same soul as the person who died… was Shulk my name? Was my personality the same…? And if we were two different souls… my parents aren't really my parents… …Oh. Haha… I'll never know…"

Shulk had a painful smile on his face. "A walking, living, breathing corpse. How paradoxical, yet one sits next to you. And this corpse brought upon this chaos of the Telethia, the destruction of Mechonis, and Zanza's awakening... "

That statement stung Dunban quite irritably. Shulk was somewhat pessimistic, as he always thinks of and considers the negative side of things (claims to be realistic). But this has gone way too far. It struck a big nerve. Sharla was frowning as well. She hasn't known Shulk for that long compared to Dunban, but she knew him pretty well to know how his personality worked. This was not him at all.

"Is that your attempt in dark humor and you trying to be witty with those hypotheses? Well, it's not working." Dunban slammed his left fist onto the platform they were sitting on. The loud thud vibrated the platform. Sharla was startled by Dunban's punch and flinched slightly, but Shulk didn't budge.

"Because you're forgetting someone…" Dunban growled deeply. Sharla herself froze at that new tone.

Shulk immediately knew. How idiotic of him to miss that. Additionally, someone else that Sharla was so intimate with was like him…

"Listen to me…" Dunban's voice was deep and low. Shulk stared blankly at the water. "So you'll be referring to Fiora as a corpse now?"

"Mmph…" Shulk closed his mouth and was bracing himself for an earful from Dunban by tightening his grip at the edge of the platform of Junks with both hands. It completely passed his mind about Fiora that she is, in a way, in the same position as he is. Additionally, the fact that he made such an indirect negative comment towards Fiora means he'll be getting "corrected" by him after this long talk.

"A corpse is such a demeaning word. You no longer refer to it as a person. You refer to it as a worthless object. And that is the complete opposite of what you and Fiora are. Also, to be technical, you're alive here and now, aren't you? You can't be a corpse."

Dunban's voice was growing more stern and harsh. "Does a corpse save all of Colony 9 from a Mechon attack? Does it liberate Colony 6 and save its survivors? Does it help a royal High Entia in killing a Telethia? Does it help prevent a Nopon Village being attacked by a Telethia? Does it save the High Entia capital from Mechon invasion? Does it save my sister from a second death? Does it make a Machina turn from his evil ways and save us with his last ounce of strength? Does it save all of the Bionis' living beings itself?!"

A lump was forming on Shulk's throat. That list… it was the achievements that he and his allies have done.

Dunban let out a sigh. He'd been waiting to say this very thought in his mind. He started his little speech in the Alcamoth after finding out about Fiora, and it was time to finish it.

"I'll be honest with you from the bottom of my heart: I could not fill the void that was in Fiora's heart since our parents were killed. For the first four years of her life, Fiora knew nothing but pain and sadness and loneliness. Not even I, her big brother, could comfort her. That was, until you came to Colony 9 with Dickson. You were the very first friend Fiora ever had made, excluding Reyn. And you made her happier than everything I have done for her combined billions of times over. …A corpse doesn't make my sister know and experience true happiness."

"A-Aghh..." Shulk felt the lump on his throat feeling tighter that he had to let out a ragged breath. The boy was suddenly breathing hard and faster and he held his head lower. He couldn't even think of anything after such a revelation. As Dunban was pouring out to him and letting him know about his sister, he noticed how his voice was cracking with each sentence. Such genuine words… Dunban never spoken like this before.

Sharla placed her hands over his shoulders and said quietly, "We have to call Linada, you're hyperventilating-"

"Nngh..." Shulk shook his head.

Sharla understood what he meant, he only needed to compose himself and he wasn't in serious physical pain. Dunban really hit the nail. "_Why hold back the tears...?_" She muttered to herself.

After a good ten seconds to regain his composure, the boy finally steadied himself. His breaths only now slightly shaky from his own feelings. Sharla cracked her knuckles after that speech. It was her turn. "Yes... what happened fourteen years ago is tragic. Yes… Zanza allowed you to live so he could live. But guess what?"

Shulk, his eyes still looking dull and void of any light, still didn't face Sharla. He continued to look down onto his reflection on the water. Dunban looked at her with expectation, his eyes focused on her.

"That is also his biggest mistake and a great blessing to us all." Sharla cleared her throat, as she noticed Dunban slightly raising an eyebrow. It seemed he was confused with that weird phrasing, but he had a hunch on what she was going to say.

"What Dunban said earlier… All those things you've done… You defied so many horrible futures that lead to our demise... What makes it different now that we can change this future of Zanza destroying us all? We can do it… with your will and strength and our efforts to help you. Zanza is going to regret messing with us, and he made the wrong choice to pick a fight with you."

Sharla took both of her hands and placed them on Shulk's left hand, still gripping onto the platform. She loosened his grip on it and had him let go. She held onto his left hand gently. "I would have died back in Spiral Valley if it weren't for you. I heard from Reyn that you saved him in Tephra Cave… You know, I'm glad that I met Reyn, the bonehead he is..."

She glanced at Dunban for a second, who cracked a smile at the last sentence, and resumed. "Dunban told me he rushed to get better by putting up with some hell of a physical therapy to get better to join you and Reyn as quickly as possible. We would have been in huge trouble with the High Entia if we didn't save Melia back in Makna Forest, and we wouldn't have met Riki…"

The sniper stopped to take a breath. She noticed Shulk's face growing less stern and softening. Additionally, it seems like his eyes were getting less dull. Dunban was beginning smile more too. He himself was getting moved by her little speech.

"This journey has been wonderful… Everyone is so grateful to have met you. There's no doubt about it… We and all of the people of Bionis, owes their life and ours to you and your efforts. And Fiora... especially her, is glad to be able to have someone running all over Bionis and Mechonis for her, let alone having her being the main reason to set out on a journey. A corpse can't achieve such a thing… Only you."

Shulk was grasping Sharla's hand slightly tighter and he slowly lifted his head up and faced her. It was gone. His dull eyes vanished, and his bright blue eyes were back, brimming with contentment. The eyes Sharla missed seeing. She couldn't help but crack a wider smile when she saw a very, very slight tear forming at his left eye, but it seemed to have held back.

"T-Thank… you… Sharla…"

Shulk turned his head to his right to face Dunban and nodded. "Thank you too, Dunban…"

He let go of Sharla's hand, while she herself withdrew her hands too, placing them on her lap. Shulk let out a few breaths with his eyes closed to regain his composure.

Shulk opened his eyes. "You're right… A corpse can't do any of that… We all got this far to…gether…"

Sharla giggled as she noticed Shulk shivered at that last word. It was 2 AM now and it was a little windy and cold out. The poor boy is still topless (yet she herself is wearing short clothes, but she didn't mind the cold at all) and that pep talk took a lot out of the three anyway. It was time to rest.

Dunban stood up, his feet and ankles dripping with water. He stretched his left arm up and turned to face Shulk and Sharla. "Well, that was a good follow-up conversation from back in Eryth Sea. Let's retire now. Shulk, you need to get dressed and sleep. The faster you recover, the faster we end Zanza's tyranny."

Sharla stood up and offered a hand to Shulk. "Come now, let's go."

Shulk nodded no. "Go on ahead. I'll join you in a second."

Sharla raised her left eyebrow and retreated her hand. "Okay then. Rest well."

Sharla approached Dunban and the two walked on towards the rest house that the Machina offered to the party. While walking, Sharla giggled out of nowhere. Dunban, caught off-guard with her laughing, asked, "Sharla? What's going on?"

She grinned widely, saying, "Hehe… Fiora was right… you do have a soft side."

Dunban, appalled, frowned at Sharla's revelation. "She… told you…?! Fiora…!"

Sharla blinked her left eye and replied Dunban, saying in a mocking manner, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"I'm not so sure I can trust you on that… But that comment on Reyn..." This time, Dunban had a cocky grin on his face. "Don't trust me on that."

"Oh... you'll regret it if you do..."

As Dunban and Sharla continued walking on, Shulk finally stood up and looked at his reflection down at the water again. The boy clutched onto his necklace tightly. Earlier, the necklace was an agonizing reminder of Dickson and Zanza to the point where he wanted to rip it off and toss the thing into the depths of the water surrounding Junks. That thought was long gone now. He stared into the eyes of his own reflection.

_"I'll still wear it… Yes, it's a reminder on how you "saved" me that day. But it'll also be a reminder of the day I stopped you and let you feel the pain of all of the people who have suffered… from both Bionis and Mechonis…"_

* * *

Headcanon: Shulk suffered severe ether deficiency because of Zanza's absorption, reanimation, and the fact that he is to inhabit two souls within his body. Because of this, Shulk was extremely sick since the day he came back to life, suffering illnesses associated with the 4 elements. The hybrid 4 elemental crystal necklace Dickson gave him over time cured all of his illnesses and sickness. Shulk would have lived without the ether crystal and would have eventually outgrown the illnesses since Zanza's soul is what kept him alive, but the crystal alleviated the symptoms and made the healing process faster.

**A/N: This is a followup headcanon from the previous oneshot. I was going to toss in another headcanon in there to explore more (which were the questions Shulk kept asking on himself after he realizes what the necklace was for), but oh man… that's another whole bunch of oneshots. Have fun thinking about those.  
**

**I'll be honest, I'm not very good when it comes to emotional encouraging talk, in writing and in real life. Oh well, learning is a process...  
**

**That second oneshot I was working on is on a huge hiatus, cause it's quite hard to write considering the characters involved. The one in progress is as follows, and another that has started:**

**-Melia, Riki - Riki's Tenderness / Summary: There's more reason as to why Melia loves to cuddle Riki and vice versa. (Based on a Heart-to-Heart event)**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**The two shot that is in unsure developments is in progress, but I'm not sure if I will post it here. It's really rough and... I don't know how I'm feeling with the direction of the story so far. Oh well. **

**I'm currently sketching images for the second oneshot and a few short comic panels for this oneshot. Be sure to check regularly for the time when I actually post them up on my profile. If you want to see how my art style is, take a look at the link in my profile. **

**Finals are coming up and I'm not doing too well in class. An update for the next oneshot won't be in a while.**


	4. Melia, Riki - Riki's Tenderness

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

4\. Melia, Riki - Riki's Tenderness

Summary: There's more reason as to why Melia loves to cuddle Riki and vice versa. (Based on the Heart-to-Heart event in Frontier Village. Takes place after the events of Prison Island - First Visit)

Pairings: Riki x Melia (Friendship), Riki x Oka

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

It was 4:50 am by the sparkling pool at Makna Forest. Melia's eyes were closed the entire time, but she couldn't fall asleep, despite embracing her favorite Heropon. Riki was curled up in a ball-like shape with his ears tucked in, lightly snoring away. It was drowned out by Reyn's snoring, who, though was a few feet away from them, was alarming. Melia sat up to see everyone after gently letting go of Riki. Sharla's head was resting on Reyn's stomach and she layed in a perpendicular position to Reyn. She slept in a normal position, body forward and hands on stomach. Melia was baffled on how she was able to sleep with Reyn as a pillow, as his irregular breaths and very loud snoring could wake up an entire herd of monsters. She is additionally a light sleeper too, considering that as a medic and nurse, she has to easily wake for any reported injuries or illnesses. How she's able to sleep is forever a great mystery.

Nearby was Dunban, who was closest to the burned out campfire. Dunban was surprisingly asleep. He's the type to always keep watch and be on a lookout for monsters, but he must have dozed off along the way or is lightly sleeping. He slept like in Sharla's position, rather his left arm was away from him. His katana was on hand, as if ready to awaken and slash monsters at any moment. It is strange though that he might not look like the type, but he snores lightly.

Shulk was furthest away from the party as he was sleeping against the rock formation around the sparkling pond on the right side. The Monado was wrapped around his right arm, ready for activation for any monster, Telethia, or a god forbid Mechon attack. Like Dunban and Sharla, he is a light sleeper and will wake easily. He has a strange habit making a mumbling noise as if his mouth was taped up when he is not sleeping comfortably or his body is trying to get in a comfortable position. There are nights where he frequently moves around a lot as if in a nightmare. Dunban and Sharla often caught him sleeptalking, unfortunately due to haunting events back at Colony 9. Reyn made sure to sleep away from him, because he got hit accidentally as Shulk moved around.

Melia could feel her cheeks feel a little hot as she looked at Shulk's face. He's always seen with a tough and confident expression. But to see him look so innocent from sleeping was just… Melia shook her head, as her embarrassing thoughts were taking over.

She quietly stood up and tip toed away from the party and headed towards the sparkling pond. She walked at a steady pace, hoping her footsteps would not make so much noise. The grass was rustling her movement, but it wasn't as loud as she thought it would be. She looked back at the party. No change. They were still asleep.

Melia sighed and sat at the edge of the pool. She sat close but not enough for the water to reach her feet. She tucked her legs towards her and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"F-Father…" The hybrid Hom and High Entia whispered, now tears falling from her eyes.

It has been a few days since the events of Prison Island. That damn Metal Face pierced her father without any remorse, let alone enjoyed taking his life. Her life crumbled as she saw the life from Sorean's face faded because additionally her mother was already gone. She and Kallian were the only ones left in the family. It was even more awful that she learned that her father knew he would die. Losing her High Entia friends from the Telethia was unbearable enough, but insult to further injury, her father too in a span of a few days?

Hence it was Shulk's words that echoed true and right in her ears back in Prison Island.

_"You'll have plenty of time to think about your empire and your people's hopes …You are Melia Antiqua. And you can't let them get away with this!"_

Melia faced to her right without moving her body. She gazed at Shulk again, still sleeping with the Monado on hand. Her eyes, still blurry with tears, were wiped as she tried to get a clearer image of the Heir to the Monado. She heard very little tidbits about how Shulk was on his journey simply for revenge. To have climbed up from the Bionis' shin all the way up to the head, simply to find a way to get revenge… Such dedication… such willpower… so admirable…

And that sentence he told her back in Prison Island was something so endearing to her that she couldn't stop thinking about it since that day:

_"If you need me, I will be at your side."_

"S-Shulk…"

She had that overpowering urge to gently wake him up and cry onto his arms. She wasn't with her only remaining family member, as he was all the way back in the capital taking charge of the High Entia. The only one she could get comfort from was…

"Why Melly awake now? Time too early to wake up."

That third person talk and the nickname could only mean her favorite Nopon. Melia faced away from Shulk and unfolded her hands to see the Heropon leaning towards her on her left. "Oh, Riki… it was hard to sleep with Reyn's loud snoring."

Riki nodded, his ears now flailing around. "Ah-! Reyn sounds like Orluga making noise with behind! Riki amazed Dundun, Sharla, and Shulk still sleep! Riki could not sleep either!"

"Ah…! Shh…" Melia was alarmed on how Riki spoke loudly as well. She turned around to see how everyone was faring. No change from Dunban, Reyn, and Sharla. Melia noticed Shulk somewhat moved a bit, facing away from them slightly. The Monado moved a little as well, but it didn't fall over.

Riki tucked his ears shyly. "Riki sorry… Riki does not whisper very well."

"It's okay. Just keep your voice down…"

The yellow-orange Nopon noticed Melia shake slightly. She was also rubbing her hands together and a bit of her forearm. She was shivering a little. Riki tapped on Melia's leg with his little hands. "Melly look cold. Melly should hold onto Riki."

Melia was surprised he noticed that she was somewhat cold. Makna Forest isn't cold at all, but considering on how sleep lowers body temperature, it seemed she didn't adjust yet. Also, Makna doesn't get hot and humid until around 7-8 am. "I will. Thank you."

Riki jumped onto Melia's lap. Melia wrapped her arms around the fuzzy Nopon. She couldn't help but grin. Every single time she embraced Riki, her habit of squeezing him gently takes over. Riki was so warm and soft, she loved to rub her fingers along the length of them. Riki groaned with relief, as Melia's rubbing and squeezing was like a massage to him. A win win situation for the both of them.

"Ah… Riki loves this feeling. Riki wish Melly can do this all the time…"

Melia's cheeks turned pink at Riki's comment. Every day, Melia allows Riki to sit on her lap when resting from traveling with the party. She always pets Riki at this time.

"Oh if only I had the upper body strength to hold you all the time, even when we walk around Bionis… I'd love to hold onto you all the time. Also if only monsters wouldn't ambush us." Riki's smile grew wider. "Yes yes. Monsters should go away to let Riki and Melly cuddle."

Melia began to rub Riki's stomach gently in a circular pattern clockwise. Riki's ears perked, as this was his favorite rubbing spot. "Oooohh… Melly is very good in rubbing Riki…"

"I'm so glad you like this…"

As Melia was rubbing Riki, her face started to soften and she suddenly had a look of disappointment. Riki noticed this change of mood, and had his ears stop Melia's rubbing. "What bothering Melly? Tell Riki."

Melia sighed, replying, "Oh… it's just… Hm…" She had a pensive look on her face, which made Riki shake a little in eagerness. "Tell Riki. Riki will listen."

She gave in. She closed her eyes and asked her Heropon, "Riki… you remember I told you why I love to hug you back at your village?"

"Yes yes. Riki remember. Riki like that talk with Melly. Riki was happy to hear that." Riki grinned, wiggling more in excitement. Forget paying debts to the village for a while, he wanted to become the Heropon to hug Melia! He was expecting more happy comments from her cuddles with him.

Unfortunately… it wouldn't be that way. Melia's face softened, suddenly looking gloomy again. Her eyebrows lowered and her eyes narrowing.

"How should I say this…?"

Riki stopped wiggling, as he was beginning to feel saddened by Melia's shift of tone. He sat up and tucked his ears in on his waist. He held out his short hand onto Melia's arm. "Melly tell Riki. Riki notice Melly's eyes not happy and red."

The High Entia empress swallowed the lump on her throat and sighed. Her voice cracking, she tells to Riki, "I have this realization since father died in Prison Island… I…" She stopped short as she closed her eyes. A new tear formed from left eye, and she wiped it from the back of her left hand. Riki unfolded his ears and began to pat Melia's hand that was holding onto him gently.

"Riki listening… It okay for Melly to cry while explaining. But if Melly will not explain, Riki understands."

"No no…" Melia replied, taking a deep breath and letting it out to get her words in place.

"I… I never hugged my father for over 75 years… The last time I hugged him was… when I was eight years old… I can't believe… that the next time I would be able to hug him was… when he…" Melia stopped short as she began to sob again.

"Melly… Melly could not hug her dadapon…?" Riki's face suddenly dropped. His eyes growing large in concern and sadness. It was even more surprising that Riki's voice was getting inaudible too.

"No… It's… High Entia custom… it is improper for Royal Family Members of the High Entia… to show public and intimate affection… Even more improper for a half High Entia and Homs like me… I… I never hugged my father in 80 years… not even my brother either… since then…"

Riki's heart felt like it sunk to the bottom of Eryth Sea. He connected two and two together. She'd never be able to hug her father ever again... and it's not like she can hug her brother in mourning or simply to show family love, cause of the cursed High Entia custom. Or...

Riki held onto Melia's hand with his ears firmly this time as opposed to patting them. His full focus on Melia, he said quietly, "Maybe for one time, Melly can hug Melly's brotherpon. Forget custom for one time or maybe some other time! Excuse is hug brotherpon for dadapon's sake! Honor Melly's dadapon's memory and spend more time with brotherpon!"

"Wh-" Melia was stunned. Her tears stopped, and she rubbed them off again. She was amazed and surprised on Riki's bold excuse. And for some reason... it sounded and felt right... Forget the rules for once...? It really does sound the right thing to do.

Melia swallowed the lump on her throat and grinned. Making a fist with her left hand, she declared to Riki boldly, saying, "Yes... You're right. Forget customs for once. When we stop by the Alcamoth later, I will hug Kallian. I shall spend personal time with him. No excuses. I will drag him if necessary! We shall mourn for our father as well."

"Okay!" The Heropon let out a huff. Melia felt Riki's ears shake slightly.

"And... Riki must tell Melly something too."

"Oh...?" Melia raised an eyebrow.

Riki rubbed Melia's hand with his ear slowly and gently as he began his speech. "Riki has other reason why Riki likes Melly's cuddles. Remember Riki said Riki became Heropon to be cuddled by Melly?"

"Yes..." Melia replied, grinning.

"Riki has reason for Melly to cuddle Riki. Riki gives hugs and is hugged by Oka and littlepon everyday since Riki married to Oka and had litlepon. Why?"

Riki took let out a long sigh and continued, his voice softening. "Riki knows no Nopon, Hom-Hom, or bird people live forever... As Heropon, Riki might leave to join Bionis earlier because Riki risk life for village and wifeypon and littlepon. Or... Bionis do not allow wifeypon or littlepon to have something happen to them! That's why Riki must spend as much time with Oka and littlepon with cuddling! And because Riki on journey with Hom-Hom friends and Melly, Riki not able to see Oka and littlepon often. Melly's cuddles and rubs remind Riki of Oka and littlepon's cuddles and rubs... Melly funny because Melly cuddles like Oka... Melly's cuddles reminds Riki to come home safely. That way, Riki can get more hugs from Oka and littlepon!"

"R-Ri..."

Melia's voice cracked and she began to cry quietly again. Riki was full of surprises, and who knew such deep, thoughtful, and cute things can come from this Heropon? Goodness, if the rest of the party heard what Riki had said, Melia figured Riki would bring a tear to each of their eyes. It sounded like a good idea...

"Ohh... Melly cry again... It's okay to cry... But Riki sorry for that."

"No no...! I've never heard... such beautiful words before, Riki! Especially from you...!" Melia sobbed, abruptly hugging Riki now. She squeezed tightly on Riki, and Riki was caught off guard on how powerful Melia's embrace could be. It didn't matter though, as he knew the pain she was holding inside was nothing compared to being crushed by her.

"You're too cute... too sincere... ever so faithful... ever so strong... Riki... You... really are the Heropon..." Melia muttered, still tightly squeezing Riki.

"Riki happy to be Heropon for wifeypon, littlepon, and for Melly..."

—

"Uoooooowaaahhhh-!" Reyn loudly and irritably groaned as he stretched on the forest ground. He didn't feel a weight on his stomach, so that meant Sharla was already awake. He sat up, scratching his head with one hand and rubbing his eyes with another. The damn sunlight of Makna Forest was overpowering, even at 7AM in the morning.

"Goodness Reyn, you can wake up more peacefully…" Sharla muttered, who was busy reloading her rifle a few feet away from him.

"What? That was a good nap, you know." Reyn replied, standing up and approaching the appointed cook for the morning. Dunban, being the early riser he is, was already by the campfire tending to the cooking Quadwing eggs that he gathered last night.

"I'm surprised we rested well, despite your deafening snores as usual." Dunban muttered, seasoning the eggs with grounded pepper that Sharla brought from Colony 6.

"Oh, can it! A guy can't help but snore! You snore too, Dunban!"

"Not as atrociously as you…"

The bickering was interrupted by a pair of footsteps. "Mmm… good morning, and it's a bit early to be fighting, everyone…" Shulk yawned, covering his mouth and stretching his left arm up.

"And good morning to you too." Sharla replied, halting her rifle reloading. She reached across her left towards the stack of the party's thermoses. She offered Shulk his thermos, filled to the brim. "Here you go. This should fully wake you up. You too Reyn, come here and get yours."

"Thank you, Sharla." "Thanks a bunch, Sharla!" Shulk and Reyn replied happily, approaching the team medic. As they sat next to her, they noticed two of their party members missing. Reyn was the first to figure, as he didn't find his competition for Dunban's Quadwing Eggs drooling all over them. He scanned around the group circle for the crown princess of the High Entia and the fluffy Heropon.

"Hey… where'd Melia and the furball go? Did they go to get more eggs or something?"

"There." Sharla answered. She was faced away from the party, pointing to the tree that was surrounded by bushes. One corner wasn't covered, and lying against the tree was Melia, cuddling her favorite Heropon. Riki was sleeping with his ears holding onto to Melia's hands. What was endearing that brought a smile to Dunban, Sharla, Reyn, and Shulk's faces was that they were smiling as they slept. Shulk vaguely recalled that last night, Melia wasn't smiling as she was cuddling Riki. But now…

"Look at that furball, getting royal treatment from Melia!" Reyn grumbled, forming a fist with his right hand.

"Oh? Jealous?" Dunban asked in teasing matter, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

Sharla groaned, "Ugh, if you're expecting hugs from me or Melia, don't count on it. It'll happen when Mechonis or Bionis ever moves again."

"What?! That's like… never! Bionis and Mechonis are dead aren't they?!"

"Exactly. And quiet!" Dunban and Sharla sternly growled at Reyn simultaneously. "Let them sleep!"

Reyn flinched, slouching his shoulders and groaning. The power of Dunban and Sharla's voices in unison was very frightening... And no hugs ever from Melia or Sharla?

"Hehe…" Shulk chuckled, the cup from his thermos still at the edge of his mouth. Whatever happened last night between the two, it went well. And he was glad that Melia was back to smiling as she embraced the Heropon.

_"Thank you Riki... for bringing a smile back to Melia's face..."_

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Melia loves to hug Riki because she never had such affectionate touch with anyone, not even with her own father and brother. Considering her position in royalty and in customs with the High Entia, it is inappropriate, let alone improper, to show intimate and public affection between the royal family. It was far worse for Melia, as she is a hybrid Hom and High Entia. Melia was at most able to affectionately hug or kiss her father and brother when she was very young, and was unable to do so any longer at the age of 8. Her brother and father was always all too busy in charge with their people, foreign affairs, etc, and was never able to spend quality personal time with Melia.

2\. Riki has a habit of hugging his wife and children every single day. Him being apart from Oka and his children made him feel homesick. Hence, Melia is a proxy cuddling buddy for him. It is also a reminder of the hugs and kisses that Oka and his children will give him once the journey with the party is over.

**A/N: I managed to squeeze this oneshot in, as my grades are actually better than I thought they'd be. I've always like this idea of a headcanon. Too cute… but unfortunately, as pressed with time, it's not as detailed as the first two either. But at least I'm a little more confident on how this one turned out. There are some other minor headcanons embedded in here, but eh… You like that hint of irony at the end of the story? Ehehehe.**

**I have begun sketches for the oneshot Necklaces. A title image has been sketched, with details being added. One page in shape of a manga format has been made. I will upload them and place them in my profile as soon as possible, so be sure to check frequently.  
**

**The following oneshot is halfway done, but in writer's block:**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**The following oneshots have begun in early development:**

**-Entire Party - Picky Eater / Summary: It was time that the whole party banded together for a second great cause: to have Shulk eat his vegetables. It was for his own good after all, in more ways than one...  
**

**-Dunban, Reyn, Shulk - Language Barrier / Summary: Reyn is going take revenge on Shulk by having him "learn" how to speak Japanese to practice on Dunban...**

**-Melia, Sharla, Reyn - Babysitting / Summary: Sharla proposed that Riki should spend time with his wife Oka through a date, and this meant babysitting their kids. Of course, it won't be easy with 8 littlepon running around...  
**

**Additionally, there is one new fanfiction that is in preliminary concepts. I am unsure if this will occur, due to the genre, which is mystery. I am TERRIBLE in writing mysteries… but the idea is wonderful. I would gladly do a joint-operation fanfiction with someone if they will be able to provide cases. (Crime, cause, evidence, motive, events of unravelling the mystery, etc) This is the following fanfiction idea summary:**

**-Unravelling / Summary: AU. The Xenoblade Investigative Unit/XIU was a three man unit headed by Dunban, Mumkhar, and Dickson. Crimes were kept low with the power of the Monado, which is a blade that allowed the user to get a glimpse of the past before a crime is committed without much detail. The user is able to get clearer visions as the investigation goes on. From those visions, the three man team was able to solve crimes. However, the blade rejected Dunban after some time, crippling Dunban's right arm and taking the unit out of operations. The unit is revived a year later when Monado falls onto the hands of an 18 year old detective prodigy named Shulk, who becomes the lead detective after the death of his love interest Fiora. Dunban is back in action as the unit leader with additional team members: Reyn, an 18 year old stoic police officer, Melia, an 88 year old High Entia secretary and hacker, Sharla, a 21 year old nurse and sniper, and Riki, a 40 year old Nopon that is the team mascot. Criminals have to watch out, as the XIU is back in action.**

**As you can see, I have been doing insane marathoning of _Criminal Minds_ to the point where it rubbed off on me. Heheheh.**

**I appreciate the reviews so far. Will be taking into account any feedback.**


	5. Shulk, Fiora - Picky Eater

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

5\. Shulk, Fiora - Picky Eater

Summary: It was time that everyone banded together for a great cause: to have Shulk eat his vegetables. (Based on the Heart-to-Heart event _A Gift for a Loved One_. Takes place after events of Mechonis Core and before the infiltration of Bionis' Interior.)

Pairings: Shulk x Fiora, Shulk x Melia (Minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"There has to be some other way to do this… please…!"

Only for Shulk, the dinner table had the possibility of being a hostile place to him. Everyone was standing around him, refusing to budge despite his pleas.

He was tied to one of Dunban's dinner table chairs… literally. Despite being a male Hom, he was very easy to subdue. A simple slam on the head by Riki's fish (with only its bones, head, and its tail remaining) was enough to daze him. While dazed, Reyn carried the Heir to the Monado on his shoulder and forcefully made him sit on one of Dunban's chairs. Sharla and Melia quickly and dexterously took at least 20 feet of rope and tied Shulk while he was still trying to focus. But it was too late for him. His body and limbs were tied to the chair, and he couldn't move. Afterwards, Reyn went off to keep Fiora busy, trying to keep this trial under wraps. The party would switch out periodically to make things less suspicious.

"This is for your own good, in more ways the one…" Melia muttered, setting up Shulk's dinner plate with a napkin and a set of a fork, knife, and spoon. It was just for formal fancy imagery, since Shulk would be unable to feed himself anyway with his arms and hands tied up to his side.

"You could have easily just told Fiora to change the menu!"

"No! That's rude and an insult to Fiora!" Sharla sharply retorted, trying to hold back her hand from slapping him across the face. "You should never, ever tell a girl to change her mind in what to cook!"

Dunban scratched the side of his head. "Yes... It's not pretty…" He recalled doing that a few years ago. Fiora planned on having a strange dish mixing Flamii Eggs, red lettuce, and sweet wasabi together. Dunban tried to nicely tell her to change the dish, but all he got was an irritated reply and a scolding of "not eating, no food for you". His sister's motherly aura was not to be taken lightly.

Melia approached the kitchen counter to grab a pitcher of water and a large glass cup. As she came back to the table, she said quietly, "Fiora is making this Get Well feast for you. And you will eat it. It is extremely rude to not eat the food she made for you."

She placed the pitcher and cup on the table. Wiping her hand with a napkin from the wet water, she continued, "I heard stories from Reyn and Dunban that you manage to hold down the food for a few minutes after you swallow. Then afterwards, you rush to the restroom to regurgitate them. That is extremely unhealthy and disgusting! Fiora will be suspicious to see you come in and out of the restroom, let alone see your face so pale."

"Gr…" Shulk growled. Her reasoning was right. There wasn't a time before where he had actually kept the leafy greens down to his stomach. Sooner or later, he would throw it back up. Even a small piece of lettuce or stalk of broccolli would make his stomach and esophagus go haywire.

Riki was jumping up and down with his fish that he smacked Shulk with. "Shulk is like Riki's littlepon! So shameful! Shulk must eat well to stay healthy!"

Shulk sighed, wiggling a little to try to get some blood circulating on his arm. "I-I'm fine…! I mean, er… you've seen my body... right? No fat, just muscle! My weight is good too! I'm perfectly fine!"

Melia faced away from the party and covered the side of her cheek. She felt it go hot. She remembered the visit from Eryth Sea when everyone was wearing swimsuits. Yes, she saw it first hand that Shulk looked perfectly fit. The muscles well defined on his body... It really didn't look like he was unhealthy at all.

At that comment, Sharla stomped next to Shulk's side and made a fist with her left hand. In doing so, she punched Shulk's sternum as lightly as possible.

"A-Ahh-!" Shulk yelped. He groaned, sucking in a sharp breath to ease up the pain from that blow.

"You kidding me? That was like a gentle tap!" Sharla groaned. She made a fist again and slammed it at Dunban's sternum with the same amount of force. She lowered herself to Riki's level and did the same thing. No response from either of the two boys. "Did that hurt at all?"

"Nothing." Dunban replied quietly, shrugging as well.

"Shara's fist did not hurt Riki! It tickled Riki!" Riki laughed while flapping his ears.

"No way!" Shulk's eyes widened in doubt. "You both are lying!"

Sharla sighed, "Your stamina is low, you can barely take a few light hits… Shulk, all you've been eating is protein, fats, cholesterol, and carbohydrates. You're just a ticking time bomb for a heart attack and all sorts of medical problems!"

Shulk's mouth tightly closed at Sharla's disclosure and frowned. He looked down at his necklace and growled. "Mmph…" He knew a few things about biology and health, and she was surely right. All he ate for the past 14 years of his memory were meats, grains, and sweets. No sign of fruits and vegetables. Surely, his eating habits will catch up to him sooner or later. Most possibly sooner.

Dunban approached the kitchen counter this time to grab one plate of vegetables that were prepared by Melia and Sharla earlier. As he placed them onto the table, he tells Shulk, "If anything, this will be an exercise and preparation to keep the vegetables down in your stomach for at least 2 hours. Afterwards, go and regurgitate it all you want. As long as you can keep it down for then, it won't make Fiora suspicious."

The boy lifted his head up and sighed. Two hours is long… Wouldn't one hour or thirty minutes or even ten minutes be good enough? If he ate quickly, the faster he could spit out the food. But, it would still be suspicious. Still frowning, he quietly replied, "F-Fine… But…"

He began to shake his whole body to ease up the pain of the ropes tying him down at the chair. "Could you remove these from me?! This is hardly necessary!"

"N-Nah…" Sharla shook her head. "It'll help you for later, in terms of not impulsively running to the bathroom."

Shulk began to blush at his realization and stopped shaking. Everyone, even Riki, is going to spoonfeed him like a little kid. What a day to be child-reared at the age of 18. Melia noticed him blushing, and began to blush too. She didn't know his realization though.

Melia glanced at the clock that was hanging above Dunban's kitchen window. It was 2:30 PM. Every five minutes, the party had to switch out. Melia volunteered to be second, so she proceeded to the door. "It's time to switch. Reyn will be coming in any minute. Be sure to check it is him though."

The High Entia empress opened the door and left, closing the door gently. Shulk watched her leave and swallowed hard. He was stuck with the two toughest coaches plus a Nopon to make fun of his efforts._ "I'm not going to make this out alive…"_ He muttered in his mind.

"Okay! Let's begin." Sharla took the plate that Dunban grabbed earlier and layed it out in front of Shulk. Shulk looked down at the white plate. A variety of greens and even some fruits were on the plate. On the upper left corner was broccoli. The top had spinach. The upper right had sliced oranges and pineapples. The center had large leaves of lettuce, with one being regular lettuce and the other being red lettuce. The lower left part of the plate had celeery, and the lower right part had avocado.

"Nnn-nngh…!" Shulk began to feel the sweat coming down from the side of his face. There was so much greens in one plate and it was the most he has seen in his life! The fruits in the corner weren't helping either. His poor mouth, taste buds, stomach and esophagus is going to be executed in a matter of minutes…

Dunban couldn't help but chuckle quietly, covering his mouth trying not to be rude. He'd seen Shulk be frightened and screaming at the sight of caterpillars. It made some sense, but to have him freak out over the healthiest foods out in Bionis was extremely amusing. Even more amusing that he is able to openly show his fear and loathing in front of them, but not in front of Fiora. The Heir to the Monado is truly a piece of work. He does not fear demigods or Mechon, but fears a bunch of greens and fruits?

A flutter of knocking on the door was heard to interrupt Shulk's agonizing sweating from fear. The rapid knocks could only mean one thing. "Yo-! I'm back! Did Shulk eat them fruits and vegetables yet?"

"No!" Sharla replied, walking towards the locked door. She opened it and allowed Reyn to walk in, closing and locking the door afterwards.

"Yes! I didn't miss the best part!" Reyn huffed, happily jogging to the dinner table.

"Reyn…! You…!" Shulk growled.

"Oh… The big boy has to eat his vegetables! How else is he going to grow up and be big and stroonng-?" Reyn mockingly asked Shulk, grabbing the fork on the table and moving it around Shulk's face as if he were to spoon-feed him.

"H-Hey! Cut it ou—!"

While Shulk was fixated on Reyn's taunts, Riki quietly took the spoon on the table with his left ear and placed a piece of celery on the spoon. With his right ear, he sneaked around to Shulk's left without him seeing. And while he was talking, he placed the spoon in his mouth and forcefully closed his mouth with the remaining muscles of his ear.

"Shulk eat like good Hom-Hom! Swallow celery! Shulk should be like Riki's littlepon and eat fruit and vegetable! The faster Shulk eat vegetable and fruit, it will be easier!"

"Mmm-mmppph—!" Shulk couldn't open his mouth as Riki was using his furry ears to keep his mouth closed. He tried to shake his head left and right to loosen up and remove Riki's grip on him, but he wouldn't move. Somehow, Riki also managed to slip the spoon away from his mouth, so only the celery was in there. (How Riki was able to balance the celery on the spoon was a good mystery.) With his struggling he could have sworn he felt as if some of Riki's fur get into his lips… He needs to brush his teeth twenty times over, and needs to eat some good meat afterwards…

Riki could see Shulk's eyes grow more narrow and smaller. He was definitely angry now still growling and trying to get the celery out of his mouth. Riki's grip was still firm though, and he wouldn't move. "Shulk should not get angry at Riki! Shulk should get angry at Shulk! Shulk acting like very little littlepon! That is very sad!"

Sharla, Dunban, and Reyn were laughing as Riki was spoon-feeding the poor guy. Reyn was the loudest of course. Sharla was clutching her stomach as she laughed, and Dunban laughed while taking a couple of napkins. He was going to wipe the boy's mouth afterwards and he needed one for himself to cover his own mouth.

"I can't…. this is too much!" Reyn hollered as he was clapping for Riki's antics. He and the furball do not get along sometimes, but this was something he had to commend Riki for.

Dunban approached the struggling duo and patted Riki on the head. "That's enough. Let him rest." He raised left hand holding onto the pile of napkins near Shulk's face. Riki immediately loosened his grip, but didn't let go.

Dunban made eye contact with Shulk and tells him quietly, "As soon as Riki lets go, let me hold this against your mouth and you spit it. I don't want a mess on my floor with your food and saliva on it."

Shulk quietly nodded, frowning still. His face even messy with more of Riki's fur and their sweat. He looked like he took a terrible headfirst fall onto the swamp ground of Satorl Marsh and Makna Forest in the daytime.

"Okay! Time for Shulk to rest!" Riki loosened his grip more and finally jumped away from the boy. As soon as he did so, Dunban immediately held against Shulk's mouth a pile of napkins.

"Gaaahh-!" Shulk spat out the disgusting celery onto the napkin. He leaned back as Dunban closed his fist to cover up the unsightly vegetable mixed with his saliva, coughing to get the "green flavor" our of his mouth. Even after a few coughs, the celery taste was still in his mouth to his disdain.

As Dunban walked towards the garbage can, Sharla took a pile of napkins and approached Shulk. "Here, let me wipe your face. You're a total mess."

"…" Shulk faced his left to have Sharla wipe the right side of his face, covered with his sweat and Riki's fur. She gently rubbed the napkin up and and down. Good thing it was easy to remove. She noticed Shulk's face with his eyebrows curled all the way down and lips tight. Anyone would be lashing out for the crazy antics that has transpired, but he was keeping his mouth shut. Him putting up with the taste... It could only mean that Shulk is having everyone in contempt right now. Having to put up with some terrible tastes for Fiora's sake is some hell of dedication. Sharla's face softened and she looked down, feeling a pang of guilt.

Reyn groaned after his long laugh. His stomach and chest hurt from the giggles and hollering. "Oh man... that was too good...!" He sighed, trying to regain his composure.

"Y-Yeah... but... we should really tone it down here..." Sharla muttered. She really began to feel sorry for Shulk. Maybe this approach wasn't too great after all. It was funny, but now...

"What?" Reyn raised an eyebrow.

Dunban noticed Sharla's observations too. Shulk's habit of being quiet when he is angry meant they really bothered and upset him. Dunban remembered that he was like this when he and Reyn fought long ago... That so called "Big Fight" that made them the closest of friends... It was rough for the both of them. Reyn was always in a grumpy mood while Shulk went on with the silent treatment. Fiora was caught in the middle as she heard both sides of the story, but each was twisted to the point where she didn't know who was telling the truth. It was bad to the point where it even made Fiora cry.

"Let's take down a bit and find some other way to do this..." Dunban replied, now sitting at the table after throwing out the napkin. He looked onto the plate of food, still filled with vegetables and fruits. What could they do to make this easier on Shulk?

Reyn took the tall glass of water on the table and offered it to Shulk. "Here, drink up, man."

Reyn placed the edge of the glass on Shulk's lips. He opened his mouth slightly and quietly drank the water. Afterwards, Shulk moved his face away from the glass to signal that he was finished. Reyn placed the glass on the table and sat down on the empty chair next to Shulk.

Riki patted Shulk on the leg with his little hand and short arms on his leg, which was still tied against the chair with rope and muttered, "Riki sorry... Riki find better way to help Shulk eat vegetables..."

"Mm..." Riki only received a quiet reply but at least Shulk's face softening at least with less of a frown. His face was still stern though. "I... can't exactly blame you all for this cause I did ask for your help but-"

"No no..." Dunban cut Shulk off. "We could have done this in a more "civilized manner", per se."

Nothing's changed. He still wouldn't be able to keep down Fiora's food down his stomach... not even for five minutes. And the minimum was two hours? How could all of this be accomplished in a few hours before the hour of fate?

Seconds were passing with awkward silence and only the sound of Dunban's wall clock was being heard. Time was wasting. They have to act fast.

Dunban sighed. He turned to Shulk, now seemingly in deep thought with his head slightly facing down. He would be in his habitual pose of his hands beneath his chin and and elbow, but that can't happen now with his arms tied up. "Is there anything either of us can do to work things out...?"

"Hmm..." Shulk nodded his head no. "The obvious one is simply not breathing when eating..."

Reyn looked confused as ever, scratching his head. "Uhhh, isn't that obvious? You do that opposite when you swallow, you'll be choking on your own food!" Reyn was an expert at this one of course along with Riki.

Sharla added, "Taste is mostly by the scent of smell... It's supposed to work. That's how I got Juju to eat his own fruits and vegetables."

Riki jumped in excitement. "Then Shulk should do it! Shulk should not smell while eating!"

"That never works for me. I'll always taste something..." Shulk sighed in defeat. Riki stopped jumping and looked upset. The easy way out was thrown away like trash. He was no stranger to that technique, and it always doesn't work. That is his technique whenever Fiora gave him a little something to eat that had some fruits or vegetables to eat. Trying to keep a straight face while stomaching down the food was a huge battle. But now that he has to do it with full blown fruits and vegetables...

"But at least it's reducing the taste to some extent." Dunban shrugged as he looked onto the plate of food again. "There's no other way, is there? That's the only thing you can do."

"Y-Yeah... Looks like I'll be doing those frequent visits to the restroom. Fiora will surely find out..."

Dunban muttered as he tapped on the dining table, "Dulling taste buds... Oh-!" Dunban stopped. "Alcohol. That also reduces taste!"

At that statement, everyone looked at Dunban, with Sharla and Shulk staring at him in surprise while Reyn and Riki were grinning. Alcohol...?

"Oi, you serious bout this? That's pretty... interesting..." Reyn asked.

Sharla frowned. "Dunban! You know we can't serve minors alcohol!" She was quick to dismiss the idea. Shulk still had three years left to go in Hom years before he can legally drink. (It was different for the other races, as their life spans were different. For High Entia, the drinking age was 90, and Nopon had it at 28.) "Besides... in order for taste buds to dull from alcohol, you literally have to be drunk! Obviously we can't have that!"

Dunban sighed, realizing his mistake. "Good point..." _"Though, it would be quite interesting to find out what kind of drunk Shulk would be... But Fiora would kill me a thousand times over."_

"Wait! Riki knows something!" Riki jumped up and down in excitement. Everyone looked down on the floor to find the Heropon excited. Shulk was crossing his fingers in his head hoping Riki has a breakthrough that will end this torture.

"Riki knows how to stop taste! Oka does this when Riki cooks, because Oka does not like Riki's cooking sometimes!"

Reyn was growing impatient with Riki's rambling as he tapped the table rapidly with his index finger. "Then spit it out, furball! Shulk is going to get killed by Fiora in a few hours!"

Riki jumped onto the table by hopping onto an empty chair first. He pointed to the plate of fruits and vegetables, saying, "Before Shulk eat fruits and vegetables, Shulk must try eating peppermint! Lots of peppermint! Peppermint will make Shulk not taste anything but peppermint!"

Shulk grimaced at the sound of peppermint. He recalled Reyn saying that "peppermint tasted like eating a leaves from a tree" back when they were young. And this was no different as he would describe eating a vegetable. Thing is, he never ate peppermint before...

Sharla's eyes grew wider as she hit the realization that Riki was onto something. "Riki is right...! Peppermint does dull the taste of your taste buds. If you manage to eat pepperment, then you won't be able to taste anything for an hour, no matter what you eat!"

"Er... you sure...?" Shulk asked with a tone of uncertainty and nervousness, raising an eyebrow.

"We would need to try that out first, don't we?" Reyn asked. He was rotating his right arm as if he was ready to get some peppermint to prepare for Shulk.

"Yes." Sharla faced Dunban, asking, "Do you have anything related to peppermint?"

"Hmm... Go check my shelves of spices and whatnot. There is bound to be some leaves on there or something, I hope."

As Sharla was scanning the shelves around Dunban's kitchen, another series of knocks was heard. Unlike Reyn's knocks, they were more quiet and rhythmic. It could only be Melia. "Hello, is everyone still there? Dunban, it's your turn to watch Fiora!"

Five minutes already? No, it must have been faster as it seems Fiora might be getting suspicious. It was time for Dunban to keep Fiora in check. Dunban stood up from his seat and approach the door. "Hang tight. I'll open the door."

"Got it." Sharla took a container full of leaves in it. She placed the container on the dining room table.

Dunban unlocked and opened the door and there stood Melia with an anxious face. She was tapping her feet on the ground, which was a habit of hers. "Any progress?"

"No, but we finally got a lead. Now come in, I'll take care of Fiora."

Melia walked inside and Dunban walked out, closing the door. Melia locked the door by turning the lock counterclockwise. She saw the entire party gathered around the table, with the only thing different is the placement of the glass of water and the container with peppermint leaves next to it.

"Peppermint? Oh!" Melia realized the plan from looking at the leaves. "Good idea!" When she looked down at Riki, she noticed Riki's fur a bit ruffled up. It didn't seem like it at first glance, but closer inspection shows that Riki's fur wasn't as smooth and even. She would be the one to notice, as she is nearly always cuddling the Heropon.

"Oh my, what happened you, Riki?"

Riki jumped onto Melia's arms. Melia caught him and rubbed the side of his head as he replied, "Oooh, Riki shoved celery in Shulk's mouth... Shulk did not like celery.. Riki had to cover Shulk's mouth to keep him from spitting, but it not work..."

"E-Er..." Melia stared at Shulk, who was facing away from Melia from embarrassment. He turned a light shade of pink with Riki's reply.

"Please don't ask..."

"I-I won't...!" Melia shook her head no rapidly. She looked at the sitting container of peppermint on the table and tried to change the subject, saying, "Come, let us try using this peppermint leaf. We don't have much time left, now do we?"

Reyn reached over on the table to grab a hold of the container. He unscrewed the red lid in a counterclockwise manner and removed the lid. Reaching down on the leaves, he took three of them and handed it to Sharla. Sharla took the leaves and approached Shulk, who was staring at the leaves nervously already.

"Unfortunately, we might need to use multiple leaves instead of one to guarantee nulling your taste buds."

"A-All right..." Shulk replied hesitantly. Sweat was falling again at the side of his face, strangely not at the same degree as before. He swallowed whatever was on his throat and sighed. "O-Okay... Let's... do this..."

As Sharla was raising the peppermint leaves towards his mouth, he took a deep breath and held it. Soon, he opened his mouth. Sharla gently placed the leaves in his mouth and retreated her hands. Shulk already could taste the mint on the leaves as soon as it had light contact with his tongue, and he flinched slightly. He closed his mouth with the leaves in it and began to chew.

"Mm..ngh..!" He groaned, his eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed as he chewed. The mint was so damn overpowering!He was feeling a reflex to open his mouth immediately and spit the damn leaves out, but he was putting all of his willpower into holding his breath, keeping his mouth shut and to swallow those leaves. Reyn and Riki couldn't help but giggle as he saw Shulk making so many facial expressions of disgust, even with his eyes and mouth closed. Sharla had napkins on one hand and a glass of water in the other to get ready for Shulk to spit the leaves out. Melia was cuddling Riki tighter in anxiety, hoping things would end well.

"Shulk can do it!" Riki chanted, wiggling around Melia's arms.

"Yes, keep going! You can do it!" Melia cheered too, but more quietly than Riki.

The leaves were small enough to be swallowed, so Shulk tried as much as he could to swallow the chewed up leaves. In a matter of a second, the leaves were no longer on his mouth and now working their way down to his stomach.

"A-Aaah!" As soon as the leaves were gone. Shulk gasped loudly, releasing his held breath and panted. The damn taste of pepperment is too much. It really felt like he ate a whole peppermint plant from just three leaves.

Reyn took one of the leaves of green lettuce on the plate and ripped a small piece that was the size of his thumb. He offered it to Shulk, saying, "Hey, try it now. Let's see if the tree worked!"

"Y-Yeah..." He replied, his voice cracking from the awful taste of peppermint.

Shulk opened his mouth and Reyn put the corner of the lettuce at his tongue. Shulk clamped his mouth shut and began to eat the lettuce. He forgot to hold his breath, but he noticed that all he still tasted was the peppermint. Sure, the texture of the lettuce was there, but there was no taste. The peppermint was working!

He swallowed the lettuce after chewing it three times and sighed. "I... I don't taste it... It's working...!" What's more, he didn't feel an immediate gag reflex of swallowing the peppermint leaves or the lettuce.

Everyone was grinning and sighing with relief. Sharla wiped the sweat that was on her forehead with the napkin that was intended for Shulk. She was on the edge the entire time. If the peppermint didn't work, they were out of options. As soon as she was done wiping, she offered the glass to Shulk. "Here, you deserve it."

"T-Thank you..."

As Sharla was helping Shulk drink the water, Reyn took a celery stick on the plate and began to eat it. He was getting a little hungry himself and he deserved a snack for keeping Fiora busy. "I can't believe we finally fixed a 14 year old curse! Now we can fi-"

"F-Fiora! Wait, don't go in yet!"

The loud voice of Dunban was echoed in everyone's ears, halting all activity in the dining room. As soon as they heard Dunban's voice, everyone's heart stopped.

Fiora is coming! If she sees them now...!

"Dunban, what's going on? What is with you lately?" Fiora's voice was a little inaudible as she spoke more quietly than Dunban. After all, Dunban's voice being louder than usual was the only warning for the others inside.

"A-Ah! Put the food away! Put the leaves away!" Sharla whispered as loud as possible. Sharla quickly grabbed the leaves and ran towards the kitchen shelves to put the leaves back in their original position. Reyn, who was closest to the plate, used his whole hand to grab all of the vegetables on the plate and placed them in his mouth. Riki and Melia stared in awe and disgust at the same as they saw Reyn's cheeks puff up like a bunny stuffing vegetables on its mouth. He was chewling slowly and grinning as he done so. It wasn't his first time stuffing so much food in his mouth after all.

Shulk realized something was even more wrong... "W-Wait... I'm still-!"

"FIORA, WAIT!"

The sound of the doorknob was moving. Everyone was holding their breath in fear and anxiety. The door was locked but...

"Why is the door locked...?"

Fiora's voice was followed by the sound of keys, then the sound of a key being inserted into the keyhole... The lock being undone and...

The door opened.

Fiora only had to open the door halfway to see the look on everyone's faces. Melia and Riki were staring at her and smiling a bit too much. Sharla was smiling too and was holding onto crumpled napkins and was constantly gripping them tighter as if she was ready to toss them. Reyn looked ridiculous with his cheeks puffed up from... whatever was in his mouth.

But Fiora was most concerned about was the Heir to the Monado...

"Shulk... why... are you... tied to a chair...?"

"F-F...Fiora..."

His throat was tightening and so much sweat was falling from his face. What on Bionis is a good excuse for him to be tied in a chair? Telling the truth would be a death sentence over and over.

Fiora turned around to see Dunban, who was trying to keep eye contact away from her. "Dunban. What is going on? You acting funny earlier, then trying to prevent me from getting in our own home... Now Shulk tied up? I demand an explanation on everyone's actions..." She frowned, glancing at Reyn and Melia, who kept her busy with some strange talk prior. Fiora easily caught on for everyone's strange behavior Reyn was spouting random topics, from the weather, her experience on a Mechon body, and food he ate. Melia was talking about Riki and the Nopon nonstop...

"I..."

Dunban could feel his left hand shaking slightly in nervousness as he gazed upon the irritated face of his little sister. He glanced at the rest of the party. They were all looking anxiously at him for him to give a proper answer to Fiora. Except Reyn, he was smiling in a goofy manner with his eyebrows high up and a large grin on his face. Shulk was the most anxious looking one of them all, his face turning red by the second.

"It's... uh..."

Fiora faced the rest of the party in the house and frowned at everyone. "You will tell me. Or else... no party later!"

Without moving his head, Reyn looked at Shulk and lifted his eyebrows as a sign of approval. Shulk could already tell from Reyn's reasoning that not telling Fiora a good explanation would spare his stomach and his mental state later. An easy way out! But it would also mean...

Fiora worked so hard cooking and prepping for a party for him... all for it to be thrown down the drain?

If there's one thing he hated and loathed so much that was on the same level as Dickson putting a hole in his chest and Zanza bent on destroying all life Bionis, it was Fiora to be sad...

No. He couldn't do this to her.

Shulk closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed. Everyone faced him and placed full attention. Shulk opened his eyes and quietly answered Fiora, saying, "F-Fiora... the reason I'm tied up like this is... is..."

"Well?" Fiora was raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I found out about the Get Well party from Dunban... You're doing all of this for me, and I'm so grateful for it... So... Dunban suggested I do something in return for your hard work... And..." Shulk glanced at Melia. "M-Melia suggested I sing a song for you..."

"W-What...?" Fiora felt her heart stop and skip a beat. S-Sing...? Shulk...? That is completely unheard of! The last time she heard Shulk sing was in her birthday with Reyn and Dunban. Obviously singing the birthday song, and that was about six years ago!

Melia was also surprised, and looked at Shulk with such confusion. At the same time, she was turning red like a cherry. She quickly shook her head and looked at Fiora, smiling to make things less suspicious.

"Y-Yes...! I suggested Shulk to sing... something. He refused and tried to run away so we... tied him up! Yes!" Melia looked at Sharla to get her approval.

Sharla nodded and smiled at Fiora. "She's right. Shulk was overreacting, so we had to tie him up."

Reyn, still with food in his mouth, nodded. He couldn't help but chuckle at the stupid excuses everyone else was making. "Mm hm!"

Riki jumped from Melia's arms and onto the dining table. He tapped on Reyn's arm that was leaning on the table and added, "Too bad Shulk still not agree to sing for Fiora! Instead Shulk will sing some other time! Shulk decides to spend time with Fiora after party! Only Shulk and Fiora!"

"O-Oh..." Fiora was blushing at Riki's explanation. She even saw Shulk turning his face away from embarrassment. "I... had no idea..."

Dunban sighed and scratched his head. That was some terrible excuses and a lame story to boot, but Fiora fell for it. He entered the house and closed the door behind him.

Shulk shook his head from the sweat that was on his face and looked at Fiora again. "Fiora... Sorry for all of this... But for sure... Let's go to Outlook Park after the party. Just like old times."

"Ah... Gladly... I'm looking forward to it...!" Fiora replied, clasping her hands together in excitement.

Dunban cleared his throat, the weight crushing him now leaving to his relief. "Well then... Fiora, shouldn't you finish preparing your food? And we should clean up to start decorating, yes?"

Everyone nodded in unison. The past thirty minutes have been quite eventful for everyone except Fiora. It was time to prepare for an interesting party and feast later today.

"Now, let's clean up. I'll have to get some things up stairs. Riki, Melia, Reyn, Sharla go outside and get the cooking pots and ingredients from Desiree. Fiora, get Shulk out of those ropes."

As everyone went off to do as Dunban commanded, Fiora giggled as she approached Shulk. She knelt down next to him to look for the knot that held the ropes together. "You look so silly tied up, you know. It's like you got kidnapped and you're being ransomed for some money or some organization secrets!"

"Er... Do I now?" Shulk muttered.

Fiora found the knot that was holding the ropes tightly and binding Shulk to the chair. It was located near his wrists. Her mechanical hands unfortunately were not as small as they were to untie them easily. She approached the sink and took one of the kitchen knives that was lying next to the sink faucet. She walked back towards Shulk and said to him, "Hold still, I have to cut this."

With her right hand firmly holding onto the knife, lightly placed pressure on the rope. She applied a little more pressure and began to slowly move the knife back and forth until the rope was cut. As soon as it was cut, the ropes became loose.

Fiora stood back and placed the knife on the table as Shulk moved his arms to remove the ropes. The ropes all fell loosely down onto the ground. He stood up and groaned, stretching out his arms. He couldn't tell obviously from his clothes, he could have sworn he had so many indentations of the rope on his skin that it would take hours for it to get back to normal.

"Aah-! Finally!"

As soon as Shulk sighed with relief, Fiora caught a whiff of Shulk's breath. She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned in suspicion. Shulk? And peppermint? It smelled good but... that was two things she would never see mix together.

"Shulk... why do you smell like peppermint?"

As soon as Fiora asked that question, Shulk immediately covered his mouth with his left hand and replied nervously, "O-Oh! Uh... Riki... made me eat peppermint to... make my breath smell better?" He flinched as he smelled his own breath as he covered his mouth._  
_

_"Ugh, it really is overpowering...!"_ He lowered his hand and scratched the side of his face. "Yeah... My breath didn't smell great earlier today so... he gave me some..."

Fiora shook her head. "That's so much peppermint... It's like you ate a whole tree..." She shrugged. Shulk's reason sounded so stupid, but plausible at the same time. Shulk does have a habit of eating too much meat and getting carried away with it...

"Okay... Hm. Maybe you should eat it more... It really does smell good. I like it." She took a hold of Shulk's hand and tugged him gently towards the door. "Come on! Let's get ready for the party!"

"Yeah. Let's go."

As they walked out, Shulk covered his mouth again. Peppermint... those leaves tastes disgusting but... if Fiora liked its scent and it would help him swallow the cursed foods of fruits and vegetables...

It was worth taking the risk.

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Fiora prepared a party for Shulk for his recovery from Dickson's attack. The thing is, the food she prepared were all fruits and vegetables. Shulk learned of this last minute and he wants no part of it, but he didn't want to hurt Fiora's feelings. He asked the party to help him to keep the food down in his stomach for some time or at least change the menu. They had Shulk tied up to a chair and forcefully fed him fruits and vegetables in preparation of Fiora's dinner.

2\. Since he was young, Shulk has a habit of staying quiet when he was angry or irritated by someone he is close to. If he is angry with any of the party members, he would stay quiet until the person he is angry or irritated with notices that something is wrong. At least he would calmly tell the opposing party what made him angry and sort things out in a civilized manner.

**A/N: For once, a one-shot with an introduction to a third headcanon! (Hint. Melia's suggestion of singing a song... Unfortunately, I will not be writing about this one. If you're willing to, by all means.) Woah. The second one isn't really major, but it was something to at least identify I guess. I'm squeezed this oneshot as fast as possible. Well, reason is because I won't be able to write anything for the next week or so. Hence, an early release to make up for things. **

**It was extremely difficult on ending this oneshot, because the circumstances are really out in the open for interpretation. It was also difficult to keep everyone in the party in character too. So my verdict is that I am neutral about how this turned out. My personal experience went into this oneshot, cause I, like this picky eater, hate my vegetables!  
**

**I just realized this is the longest oneshot yet, that is twice the length of the others... Oops.**

**With this oneshot done, the following are in development:**

**-Dunban, Reyn, Shulk - Language Barrier / Summary: Reyn is going take revenge on Shulk by having him "learn" how to speak Japanese to practice on Dunban...**

**-Reyn, Sharla, Melia - Babysitting / Summary: Sharla proposed that Riki should spend time with his wife Oka through a date, and this meant babysitting their kids. Of course, it won't be easy with 8 littlepon running around...**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**-Shulk, Zanza - Rebirth / Summary: Pre-game. A tie in headcanon with the oneshot Necklaces and retelling of the vague events of Ose Tower. He waited for centuries for the one vessel, and what perfect timing when a group of Homs came into his presence. One would be spared, but with a cost...**

**Reminder to be on a lookout for sketches for the second oneshot. My scanner is in repairs and will be fixed, so check on my profile for the images periodically.**

**And again, I appreciate the reviews and will take feedback into consideration.**


	6. Shulk, Zanza, Dickson - Rebirth

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

6\. Shulk, Zanza, Dickson - Rebirth

Summary: Pre-game. A retelling of the vague events of Ose Tower and a tie-in headcanon with the oneshots _Necklaces_ and _Renewed Strength_. He waited for centuries for the one vessel. The time has finally come to get one. And he wouldn't mind waiting another fourteen years to wreck havoc on Mechonis once again with that vessel.

Pairings: None

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"You're kidding me, right?" Dickson dropped his cigarette onto the ground and stomped on it with his right foot. He let out a puff and the grey smoke disappeared into the Colony 9 night air. "They're insane… Bold but insane. How long since they left, Xord?"

"Not kiddin' ya, they left 'bout 18 hours ago." Xord replied as he looked down on his chest and held the locket in his right hand. He kept pressing the side to open it and close the cover after a few seconds of staring at it. It was a habit of opening and closing when he is standing idle, staring at the picture of his daughter within it.

Xord was a big muscular man with a tall stature, and it was because of his workout from his job. Being the most skilled blacksmith in Colony 9, he makes weapons of all sorts. From swords, to katanas, to guns, to lances, to daggers... the list was huge. His craftsmanship was so good, that even people from all over Bionis travel up to Colony 9 just to get weapons from him. What's more, Dickson sometimes gets high quality scrap parts from Xord to develop machines and weapons. But if there was anything Xord was most proud of, it was his daughter Desiree.

Dickson scratched his head with his left hand and sighed. Now he has a mountain of belongings to get ready cause of Xord's answer. Xord finally stopped opening and closing his locket and narrowed his eyes at Dickson. "You goin' after them?"

"They were sorta nuts in the first place to go all the way over there in those mountains!" He clicked his teeth. "Though, I gotta admit they have the right idea of what we should be doing. Those Mechon are getting relentless, and the Monado is the only and very thing that could turn this crap all around…"

Xord looked down at the hammer that was next to his feet, with the black mallet facing downwards and the handle upwards. "If only I could build weapons that are able to cut through that armor…"

"Hey, we haven't gotten there yet! Just do what you can now! You've done too much 'round here." Dickson tapped a hand on Xord's left shoulder.

"Guess so…" He raised his eyes up to gaze on Dickson, having a cocky smile on his face. When Dickson smiles like that, Xord couldn't help but do the same.

Dickson let go of Xord and began walking away towards the Military District. As he walked, he waved a hand and said to Xord, "All right, I have a serious gut feeling something's gonna happen to those people, so I'll catch up with them to make sure they're safe. I'll be at my place preparing to head out. I'll drop by again here before I go."

"'Kay then. I'll get something cracking for that gun of yours."

"Appreciate it, mate."

As Dickson walked on the bridge approaching the central plaza, he chuckled. So many years have passed since he laid eyes on the Monado. Those High Entia have sealed it away in Ose Tower and then sealed Arglas in Prison Island. He reached into his right pocket and out came a cigarette box. He took one out and placed it in his mouth.

"Heh… Finally, some action. Waited too damn long for this. Now the fun's gonna start."

—

Walking felt like centuries were passing, especially when nothing was visible but fluttering white all over and gray towering mountains were all around. It has been 2 hours since their last reprieve. Even at 5 AM in the morning, Valak Mountain was brutal.

Shulk was squeezing his right hand tightly to grip onto his mother's left hand, but it was shaking violently from the below zero temperatures. His whole body was. It didn't help that he was only four years old, and he was the most susceptible to this brutal weather as not enough body heat being generated.

The wind and snow howled around and deafened him. It was so loud, he couldn't even hear his own shivering breaths that take a misty form for a split second and vanish with the blowing winds. Shulk felt as if his whole body was being stabbed by knives from the frigid weather, but mostly on his face, as it was the most exposed part of his body that was not being covered. The wet snow was pelting his face, and it was not even melting from his 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit body heat. (It went down obviously from longterm exposure to the cold.) It was piling up, and he was getting tired from wiping it away constantly.

Shulk's mother noticed the snow that was gathering at her son's face. She stopped advancing and knelt down next to him. With her right hand, she gently wiped away the snow from his forehead first, working her way down to the chin trying not to have snow enter his coat. She saw her son's face turning pale. Obviously a bad sign, because in a couple of minutes to an hour, it'll turn blue, and then he's going to experience hypothermia… That's the last thing she wants to happen.

"Honey… please… let me carry you the rest of the way. Look at you… your face is going to turn blue! You need to your warm yourself by allowing me to carry you."

"N-No… mom… Please… let me walk…" Shulk replied, his teeth chattering in between his words. As he answered, his grip around his mother's hand was tightening even further. He looked up at his mother's green eyes. "We're… almost there… Dad said so…"

"S-Shulk…"

"Hey! Sherilyn! We can't get separated! Come over here!" Renold, a neighbor from across the street from Colony 1, called out to Shulk's mother. He was waving his arms back and forth to signal his position. They were a few feet ahead, but because of the damned blizzard, visibility was poor and it was hard to make out anything within 3 feet ahead of a viewer.

Next to Renold was Nathan, Shulk's father. He looked behind to see his wife and son standing behind them. He said nothing, but presented a determined look at his family behind him and nodded. It wouldn't be long now as they were approaching the sacred resting place of the Monado. Nathan wasn't much of a talker, but he was nominated as leader of the expedition team. It was due to his quick thinking, multitude of responsibilities he can perform, being a great listener, and his trust on others. He nominated Erik, another Homs of the team, to lead the way into the shrine as he offered to be in the back of the group to make sure no one fell behind.

"We're coming…!" Sherilyn looked down at his son who now looking ahead facing his own father. "Come. Let's catch up with your dad."

As the rest of the expedition team slowly marched on, Nathan stood still and waited for Sherilyn and Shulk to catch up. As he approached his father, Shulk couldn't help but notice his father still looking determined as ever. He was surprised how the weather and long walking didn't even faze him. He noticed his mother was shivering and breathing heavily throughout the entire trek across Valak Mountain, but his father? Nothing. He looked the same as he left Colony 1 and 9. No sign of fatigue or weakness from the weather. With the steadfast look he had, it was as if nothing on Bionis could stop him.

"Dad…" Shulk muttered quietly under his breath that dissipated in the diamond dust.

Even if the odds were stacked against him and knock him down, he would stand up and march on. That was the very thing Shulk wanted to live up to. And this hellish journey was going to do the job.

—

"This is it! I can't believe it!" One member of the expedition team named Heinz cried in joy.

"Finally! We can reclaim Colony 1!" Renold added, rubbing his hands together to get the warmth back onto his frozen fingers.

Shulk looked up to his mother who had a smile with relief. She sighed and looked down at her son after staring at the grey door that was towering before them. "We're finally here…"

The boy remained silent, and he wiped the snow that was on his forehead. He looked up and ahead to see his father who looked behind. His stalwart face still hasn't changed. Nathan nodded at his wife, who replied, "We're ready."

Anna, Lana, and Steiner, who were other Homs who joined in the expedition, made way for Nathan, who walked towards the center of the large grey door. The six Homs stood behind him and allowed Sherilyn and Shulk to huddle in and join right next to them.

Everyone held their breath as Nathan slowly placed his right hand on the door. The moment he made contact, a dull sound was heard. The indentation on door began to slowly split by itself and the automatic door opened. Dust and snow began to fall suddenly from the door's opening, which Nathan simply shrugged off. He stared dead ahead to see fading white mist. It was a dull gray passageway with small steps. Strangely, there was no cobwebs or any signs of degrading within the tower. Such as expected of High Entia technology preserving their work.

"Let's go." Nathan quietly announced to the Homs behind him, and began to walk inside.

The group of Homs all sighed and groaned as they entered the strangely warmer atmosphere of Ose Tower. They scattered around different areas of the Tower, moving in place to warm themselves up and talking among themselves.

Shulk let go of his mother's hand as they entered Ose Tower. He turned his head around and up to observe this strange tower. A dull gray tower. Nothing out of the ordinary. But the architecture was unique. The symmetry was perfect. No debris. He sighed with relief as he can finally relax with the temperature warming up compared to the subzero temperatures outside.

He didn't notice but his pace was walking a little faster. Seeing her little boy hasten himself, Sherilyn widened her eyes in concern and reached out her left hand, calling out, "Shulk! Don't get ahead of yourself!" She jogged ahead to catch up with her son.

Anna noticed Sherilyn trying to catch up with Shulk and smiled. "Oh, Sherilyn. Your little boy is interested in this place, huh? Is it possible that he's interested in architecture, archeology or machinery?" Sherilyn stopped and smiled slightly. "Oh, maybe… Too early to say."

Shulk caught up with his father, who was staring ahead and not moving. He looked to see what he was staring at, and he couldn't help but be mesmerized himself.

Ahead was a small pedestal composed of stone rings. And above it was a long, crimson blade with a long handle with a circle at the hilt, and there was a blue outline that went from the hilt to the edge of the blade. At the center of the blade was a larger circle and if Shulk squinted a bit, he could see glass in the middle of that circle. The blade was wide, and it didn't have a sharp edge as usual swords do. What's more was that of a strange, navy blue aura surrounding the blade.

As Shulk made a step forward, he felt something hold him back on his right shoulder. A strong hand. He looked up to his right to see his father, looking down on him. He nodded no as he loosened his grip a little. "Stay back."

Shulk nodded and looked down at his snow boots, getting soaked from the melting snow. "Okay."

"Shulk, come here." Shulk turned around to see his mother gesturing with her fingers towards herself. "Give your father some space."

Shulk walked to his mother's side and took hold of his mother's right hand. He looked ahead to see his father now approaching the steps leading towards the pedestal holding the crimson blade. The rest of the Homs that were part of the expedition team gathered around Sherilyn and Shulk and stared ahead.

"It's time…" Renold whispered under his breath. He raised a fist near his chest. "We can wreck those cursed Mechon!"

"Hey hey, we have to study the Monado first. Can't just blindly use it without knowing the specs." Anna replied.

Steiner nodded, but then held an index finger near his lips. "Shh! Quiet! Nathan is going to retrieve the Monado."

As soon as Steiner mentioned that, everyone grew silent. Nothing but the sound of everyone's breaths were being heard. Shulk tightened his grip on his mother's hand as he watched his father stand inches before the Monado. His were eyes focused on his father's right hand, which slowly made its way towards the edge of the blade.

Nathan could hear his heart beating louder with each second. As his right hand closed distance between himself and the Monado, he could feel his hand twitching in hesitation. This never happened before. Sweat was building up at the side of his forehead and his breaths grow heavier.

"Why…?"

Nathan's right hand was inches away from its edge. But it stopped.

"Nathan…"

Nathan lowered his hand turned around as he heard the voice of his wife. Her eyebrows furrowed down, but with a smile on her face. To her left was his son, his big blue eyes staring at him. Those same eyes that he gave him… But something was different. He could see fire in his eyes. That same look of determination he saw when he said he wanted to go on this journey. But it was more vigorous as he saw more glints on his eyes.

To see his own family like that… There's no holding back.

"Thank you." He quietly said to himself.

He looked back at the Monado and raised his right hand again.

And with a breath, Nathan wrapped his fingers around the edge of the Monado.

As soon as he held the cold, crimson blade, a wave of a dark blue aura rushed forth. It engulfed the entire sanctuary, turning everyone's vision to every object and person within the tower to have a shade of blue.

Everyone in the tower was glancing around the tower, puzzled and agitated on what just occurred.

"What is this aura?!" "What's going on?!"

"Hey-!" "Did the Monado do something?!" "I don't think it was supposed to do this-?!"

A plethora of questions were piling up from the expedition team. This tension was causing everyone's voices to be raised. Sherilyn gripped onto her son's hands tighter as she could feel the fear in the air.

"M-Mom... your hand... it hurts..."

"H-Honey... I-"

Sherilyn was stopped short. As if her whole body weight doubled, she was now slouching as she struggled to stand up straight. Her grip on her son's hand loosened as she tried to pull herself up. It was peculiar too, a green aura was surrounding her, and that aura was moving away from her. She followed the path of the aura to see it heading straight towards the Monado.

Nathan was on his knees, no longer holding onto the Monado. He was grasping his chest and panting, his own posture now being uneven and his body falling limp. Like her, a green aura was surrounding him but it was moving away and being led towards the Monado. In an attempt to regain his balance and posture, he step down from the pedestal and took a few steps back towards the right of the altar, and fell on his back.

"NATHAN!"

Shulk could see the pain in his mother's eyes. She was on the verge of tears, which was something he never saw before in his four years of memory.

"M-Mo-"

And it was his time to experience it too.

Some invisible, crushing weight was crashing down on him, causing him to fall onto his knees. As his legs were giving out, all he was beginning to hear were cries of anguish, misery, and agony from every adult in the room. Nothing but groaning and screaming was filling Shulk's ears. Shulk could see some of the Homs trying to crawl away to the exit of the tower.

"A-Aahhh...!" He tried using his arms to lift his weight up, but whatever was crushing him was pushing him down with double the force. Additionally, for some reason he could feel his arms and legs contracting automatically.

"Sh-Shulk...!" Sherilyn cried, now on the ground face flat. She tried to move her head so she could see her son's face as well as reach out her arms. As she attempted to do so, she noticed there was also one thing she couldn't do.

She couldn't breathe. And Shulk couldn't either. No one in Ose Tower could.

If it was the aura that came out of the Monado or whatever, everyone felt as if the air was taken away from the tower.

More tears were flooding Sherilyn's eyes as she heard everyone wheezing and gasping, but moreso when saw her son grasping his chest and neck. Shulk was beginning to cry as well. Freezing cold and exhaustion be damned, being unable to breathe at all was the worst feeling he ever felt.

"I...I c-c-ca...n'...t... b-br...ea..the... M-M...o...m..my...! D...D-D...a...d...d..y...!"

Sherilyn sobbed out loud. Not because she was in pain and literally out of breath this time. Shulk has never referred to her as "mommy" since he was two years old, the year he began to speak. Starting last year, he simply referred to her as "mom" and his father as "dad". But now...

There was no other choice now. If anyone was to get out of here...

Sherilyn, with all her strength, drew in whatever breath she had and screamed out as loud as she can, "Sh-Shulk...! Get out... of here...! Cra...wl your way o-out of... he-here...!"

"N-No...!" Her son's response was immediate.

"S-Sh-hulk..!" It was his father's voice following up. This was the very first time Shulk heard his father's voice boom so loudly. But it was broken and angry. And with a small hint of... sadness. Something Shulk never, ever heard before either.

"L-Lis...ten... to your... mo-moth...er...! Le..ave...! NOW!" That last word was loud enough to echo across the tower walls and be heard over the cries and panting of every person in the tower.

Shulk, being cut short of his cries from his broken breaths, gazed at his mother's face. She was still crying and gasping, but at the edge of her lips she was smiling. That smile... Shulk didn't see much in his short life, but he was smart enough to know that this would be the last time seeing her.

He pushed himself up to get on his fours to see his father, lying on his back and looking at him too. Another first he has seen with his father, and it was the main thing to get him moving.

Nathan was crying. A small tear was forming on his eye. Shulk's vision was blurred, but he was able to see that one tear beneath that blue right eye.

Shulk took one empty breath and pulled himself to face his right so he would be heading towards the exit, which was wide open. With every once of strength he had that was quickly draining away, he lifted his right arm and pulled himself forward. Then his left. He alternated his right and left leg too to move.

Sherilyn tried to say her son's name out loud as she saw him crawl away to leave the tower. But nothing. Her vocal cords were no longer working, and nothing came out of her lips except for painful and agonizing gasps. It was over. Everything was blurring to black. She couldn't even see what was in front of her anymore. With all she could, she looked to her right and squinted her eyes to see her husband, his face very red and now a waterfall of tears flowing from his eyes. Sherilyn never saw Nathan cry this much since the birth of their son and their marriage ceremony. Her suffering would soon end. His too.

_"My only son... Live... For me... and for your father..."_

Nathan closed his eyes after taking a last look at Sherilyn's face and smiled. As if Nathan heard the last of his wife's thoughts, he followed up on her words.

_"Shulk... we love you... We'll... be watching over you..."_

—

Time felt even more still compared to this cursed journey towards this place. The voices of all of the Homs here in this hall was growing more quiet. The cries became more drowned out, and the gasps were being silenced.

He knew time was running out cause he was feeling the little strength he had leave him.

Shulk didn't even advance far from his original position where he stood near his mother after two minutes of crawling away. The weight that was crushing him was more intense, and it didn't help that his lungs weren't working either. He could feel his pulse getting weaker and weaker. Every beat was less intense than the last. His vision was nothing but dull colors of white, grey, blue, and green. Not even a shape was in focus. He had to leave. His mother and father pleaded with him from their parting words to do so.

But no... It was too much. It has gotten to the point where even when Shulk told his arms and legs to move, they wouldn't budge.

His body stopped advancing and he fell chest-down on the chapel floor. He couldn't hear himself wheezing and panting and groaning. Everything was blackening. He was no longer feeling the wet tears from his face. And he couldn't feel the pain in his chest anymore.

So helpless to where there was nothing he could do but close his eyes.

Shulk left an empty breath. At the very last ounce of consciousness, he didn't feel the final tear leave his eyes.

_"I'm sorry, Mommy... Daddy..."_

—

It had been thousands of years since he had a physical body of a Homs. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be as "comfortable" as he wanted it to. The first thing he felt was that his face was wet. He wiped it with the gloves his vessel was wearing.

It was a struggle to even get to open his vessel's eyes, let alone the vision to focus. As soon as it did, he saw sideways the grey chapel floor, and around were corpses of the lives he sucked out. Zanza struggled to lift himself up with both hands and arms and was on his fours.

"How annoying…" He muttered. The voice he was using wasn't his own, it was the corpse's he reanimated, which was high pitched but groggy. "Why... did you have to attempt to leave...?"

Zanza turned himself around and began to crawl on his fours. His vessel was far too weak to stand up properly.

"What's this...? This feeling...!"

Something else was wrong. In addition to being lightheaded, feeling as if hypothermia set in, and struggling to draw breath, Zanza felt nauseous too.

"Ether deficiency…" He growled. Gathering up the ether from the Homs and transferring it to himself and his vessel borderline passable. If only the number of people that came to the tower were greater, then these symptoms wouldn't be happening. Or the damn physics of the universe. It was Meyneth's idea to instill the concept of ether in the world. He shouldn't have allowed that.

When he absorbed the ether of these Homs, he tried to get as much as possible ether of all of the six elements. Unfortunately due to the weather outside of Ose Tower, the Homs were lacking fire, water, and wind ether. Zanza barely had enough ether to revive his vessel as he used most of it to break the bonds that was holding him within the Monado. And to think how long has passed since he woken up within the vessel since he absorbed the ether?

Even if his vessel's ether ran out, Zanza was the very thing that held the boy's life together. As long as he lived, his vessel couldn't die, as a god could not die in such natural causes. But it didn't come without the side effects of lacking ether.

_"High fever, muscle aches, paralysis, dyspnea, hypercardia or hypocardia... the symptoms are endless. Damned feeble Homs bodies..."_

But what other choice did he have?

Whatever. Zanza continued to move towards the altar where the Monado stood silently. As he did so, he noticed more corpses lying around at the sides of the chapel. One caught his eye to his right, as it bore resemblance to something familiar. _"Ah... the vessel's father. Heh..."_

"Convenience that this boy resembles my original form… I can't let it go to waste…"

Finally, after ascending the light steps on all fours, Zanza curled up on his side and closed his eyes. His tired breaths echoing the silent hallway along with the aura of the Monado that was above him. He was getting sleepy again. He sighed and folded his arms and legs in a fetal position.

_"I've waited thousands of years... I could wait another fourteen years. Let the next step begin."  
_

—

Dickson loved traveling, but he hated some of the terrain he had to go through. Valak Mountain was number one on his list.

"Dammit, you High Entia... Could have picked a better place to hide the Monado!" Dickson growled as he shielded his eyes from the falling snow. "Not letting me have me have my smoke either... You all stink..."

Dickson saw a blue light emanate from the direction of the tower to Prison Island three hours ago as soon as he reached Valak Mountain from Makna Forest. That was a sign he had to rush over.

The man groaned as he approached the tower grounds, freezing and aching all over. It took him about over two days worth of nonstop walking to reach here from Colony 9. Dickson growled. As soon as he stepped on the temple door, he realized he'd have to trek back on foot with whoever Zanza chose to use as his vessel. "How inconvenient..."

Dickson touched the tower door and waited as he slowly watched it open. As soon as he peeked in, he saw the lifeless bodies of the Homs that met over a week ago at the sides of the tower hall. Their faces were half covered by the hoods they were wearing, but a closer peek showed their pale faces, facial expressions ranging from sadness to pain to agony. _"Damn... this is overkill."_

He walked forward a few steps to see what he needed to see.

The Monado was quietly sitting on the pedestal, emitting a blue aura with white light all around it. It was exactly as he saw it thousands of years ago when Zanza was wielding it. It looked pristine too.

By simply looking beneath the pedestal, Dickson found who he was looking for.

_"Wow, Lord Zanza. I should have seen it coming."_ Dickson said to himself. _"But this is a surprise... they brought him along as well..."_

Beneath the pedestal was a boy sleeping peacefully in a fetal position. It was hard to believe that he was initially at the same state as the other Homs that were in the tower. He knelt down to examine him further.

Dickson remembered the one family from the Colony 1 survivors that had a son. He was the only kid of those survivors. A quiet little boy who was really frail and got sick easily. He was pretty attached to his parents too as he followed either one of them all the time, and was never playing with the Colony 9 kids.

As gazed upon the sleeping boy, Dickson remembered the words Zanza told him years ago.

_"...I'm going to do something new. Unlike Arglas, I'll allow whoever my next vessel is to have a personality of his own. Raise him well and guide him to Prison Island. All else will unravel as shown in the passage of fate..."_

"Whatever you say, Lord Zanza..."

Dickson lifted the boy from the ground and carried him with both of his arms. He much lighter than expected, despite the heavy wear he had on. It was time for an annoying trek back to Colony 9. He then carried him with one arm to retrieve the Monado. After mounting it on his back, Dickson carried the boy with both arms again, holding him against his chest and allowing his head to rest on his left shoulder. As he walked out, he forgot to light a cigarette. Dickson sighed. His eagerness to retrieve Zanza gotten the best of him. Oh well.

"Hmph... this is going to be an interesting fourteen years... Let's see how this goes..."

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Shulk and his family were originally from Colony 1 from Bionis' Shoulder. After a disaster with a Mechon invasion, they migrated to Colony 9. Wanting to regain Colony 1, a group of Homs, including Shulk's family and himself, went to the expedition to retrieve the Monado in Ose Tower. Shulk's parents refused to let him join them in the expedition, but Shulk wanted to go, as he wanted revenge for the home they lost. As the game states, all of the people in the team died, including Shulk. He is revived by Zanza, but with ether deficiency. Dickson found him about 3 hours later and brings him back to Colony 9.

2\. Shulk has the hair color and eyes of his father and the facial structure and stamina of his mother.

**A/N: I honestly didn't know what to name Shulk's parents and the other Homs in the team. These names came out of nowhere so eh… So yeah, I pulled random names from whatever came to my head and stuck them on there.**

**I studied very carefully those opening scenes of the game with the Monado being excavated from the ruins. I have no idea what on earth the specific events that took place there, so I tried to make some sense out of it. I went primarily on the opening scenes, where the group of Homs simply entered the tower, then it pans to the outside where a stream of blue light appears. After what was revealed late game, that was pretty much the "revival" of Zanza at that point. No idea how on earth the bodies were scattered around the tower ground, and how on earth was Shulk near the Monado? Then there was the scene in the game in Ose Tower when Shulk mentions about his dad retrieving the Monado, then…? And that heart-to-heart with Dunban in Satorl Marsh? Corresponding to that and what was shown in the early cutscenes… bleh. There was no dialogue at all in these scenes, but I'm sure there had to be something... so I thought of whatever seemed possible.  
**

**It was extremely tough to write about this since I had all this freedom to write on what happened. I dunno, this is how I thought of it, considering my previous headcanon. Oh man, emotional and angsty things are realllllyyyy tough to write for me. What I think of the outcome? I have no idea. I guess I'm neutral.  
**

**One interesting note is as to why not having these people migrate to Colony 6 as opposed to Colony 9 since it's closer? Hm... good question, but I have something in mind that could lead to a potential oneshot. That's for another time.**

**In addition to drawing scenes and images relating to the oneshots, I've been drawing images for the OST of Xenoblade as well. Check them out on my profile as the beta for art relating to these series of oneshots. **

**The following oneshots are in the middle of development:**

**-Reyn, Sharla, Melia - Babysitting / Summary: Sharla proposed that Riki should spend time with his wife Oka through a date, and this meant babysitting their kids. Of course, it won't be easy with 8 littlepon running around...**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**-Egil, Vanea, Meyneth - Determination / Summary: His brethren slaughtered and his goddess weakened and forced into a state of long slumber. It was then Egil decided to use his talents to bring his wrath upon Zanza and Bionis.**

**The first will most likely be posted next. I don't know when they'll be up, as my summer break is going to be busy restudying organic chemistry. Until then, I appreciate any reviews and will consider any criticism.**


	7. Entire Party - Archiving Memories

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

7\. Entire Party - Archiving Memories

Summary: It was past dinner time on the Bionis' Knee and Melia notices Shulk writing on a large book, completely focused and determined to finish whatever he was writing to the end, even if he had to stay up all night. What could he be writing about at this time of day? (Takes place after the events of Prison Island - First Visit and before entering Valak Mountain for the first time.)

Pairings: None

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

It was about 11 PM in Traveller's Rest on the Bionis' Knee. Melia gazed up at the billions stars lying on her back against the grass after a good meal that Riki and Dunban prepared, with Dunban skillfully cutting the Armu meat into even pieces and Riki quite literally using burninate on them. After the delicious meal, they cleaned up for the entire party, and not surprisingly Riki was eating everyone's leftovers.

Melia was overhearing the loud conversing between Reyn and Sharla to her left. Sharla was getting fed up with Reyn's lagging evasion and accuracy that she had to constantly monitor him in battle and lose focus on the others. Reyn couldn't help it, retorting that he got at least 10 monsters on him at a time. (He did once, literally against quadwings and ferises alike in Satorl.) It was a stagnant debate that had been going on for a good hour. Melia listened in the first five minutes, but decided it wasn't worth it and simply stared up at the night sky.

The party needed to spare themselves a break after the chaotic events of Prison Island. And traveling Valak Mountain would be hellish in itself. Dunban suggested the party to rest properly, in body and soul alike. But they couldn't completely waste their time or slack off in combat either, hence they busied themselves by doing errands for the Homs of Colony 6 and 9, the Nopon of Frontier Village, and the High Entia of the Alcamoth. After gathering enough errands, the party would work their way from the Bionis leg to head fetching all the materials and killing the monsters needed to minimize travel time. But it was late at night and the party was winded from the heavy walking and fighting, so it was time to call it a day.

Everyone was busy except one person. Melia sat up and looked to her right a bit to see the individual sitting by himself near the campfire. He was looking down at his lap and staring intently at it. Melia raised an eyebrow and curiosity made her stand up and approach him.

"Shulk? What are you doing?"

Melia stopped as she was a few inches away from him and looked down to see the Heir to the Monado writing vigorously on a large book. It was about 10 inches by 8 1/2 in length and width, and height was about 4 inches. Shulk had very neat handwriting to the point where Melia almost mistaken it to be actual print of a book itself as opposed to it being handwritten. The spacing was small to about 2 cm in between words and lettering was 3 cm long. It was even more baffling that even though the book had no preengraved lines, Shulk wrote his sentences nearly straight.

Shulk quickly looked up to his left to see Melia looking at his writing. He returned to facing his half-completed page and continued to write, replying, "Oh… er… writing about what we found recently. Anything that we find unique to each part of the Bionis catches my eye so I'd like to observe and write about it. It's a habit of mine… it drives Reyn nuts."

Melia chuckled at the latter statement. She experienced this a few times already. At times, Shulk would stop walking, getting weird looks from the party and pick up something off the ground. Then he'd look at it at all angles and use all of his senses to get a general idea of what he's looking at. For example, he'd smell any fruit or vegetable, then have another party member eat it. (His disdain for the food groups knows no bounds.) If it was an animal, he'd watch it for a while for its behavior towards food, other animals, and so forth. And all in doing so, Reyn would yell at him for wasting time.

"You being the curious type and the research in the Monado… Dunban told me a while back. It's quite admirable." Melia complimented, trying to hide the shade of pink she was turning.

"Huh? Really?" Shulk stopped his writing to glance at Melia after hearing that statement. Besides Fiora and a bit of Sharla, Melia was impressed?

"I think so… Oh-" Melia cut herself short to stop the awkward feeling she was getting. She didn't want to slip up any weird words to him… She sat next to the boy and peered close to see what he was writing. The left page was full of sentences divided into four large paragraphs. The right page had a sketch of a ladybird at the top. It was then Melia realized what she was looking at.

"That's… the ladybird we saw in the High Entia Tomb after you saved me. You remembered what it looks like?"  
Shulk nodded. "Yeah. I have photographic memory for some things. Ugh… bugs… for some reason they stick to my head as good as machine parts do. Maybe cause they're so terrifying."

Melia giggled, even more impressed at the boy's memory. She glanced at the sentences beneath it.

_This ladybird traps air in its hairs so it can even breathe under water._

Right below the sentence was the beginning of a new paragraph. Shulk wrote the following:

_Thanks to Reyn's impulsive curiosity, we fell into the Tomb Robber's Pool of the High Entia Tomb. Additionally because of Reyn and Riki, I couldn't resurface from the pool as fast as I wanted to. As I was about to do so, I noticed quite a few of these insects beneath the waters of the pool. How strange… Insects usually avoid being submerged in water. After saving Melia from Tyrea and the Telethia that ambushed her, we had a short reprieve before meeting up with the Emperor. I decided to return to -_

It stopped there. Melia concluded Shulk didn't even get to finish writing his thoughts since she interrupted him. But goodness, he even wrote the backstory as to how he found such a thing. And he didn't even reach to his observations? Melia shifted her gaze onto the left side of the book he was writing on. It was enormous… the book was already almost completed, with the right side bearing only a few centimeters left of empty pages.

"This really is amazing Shulk… I would find it really difficult to write about the smallest things. You make it seem so easy."

"Really? Tha-"

"Geez Shulk, you writing in that hunk of junk again?"

Reyn was kneeling behind the boy as he took a quick look at the current entry he was writing in. He peered in a bit too close, to the point where Shulk felt his breaths at his neck. Shulk flinched and frowned, correct his best friend, "Excuse me, this isn't junk. And please space yourself."

Reyn crawled and sat to Shulk's right crosslegged. He already got disinterested by seeing the wall of text that Shulk currently wrote, so he didn't bother. He glanced at the picture of the ladybird instead. "Ah! It's that bug you said you saw in the Tomb! Wait a minute... that's why you ditched us for some time after saving Melia? You literally went back to the tomb, then to the pool, and took a dip to watch them?"

"I... did..."

Reyn groaned. He got an earful from Dunban and Sharla as they said to keep tabs on Shulk. It wasn't pretty getting scolded from them for a good thirty minutes. And when Shulk actually showed up, he was soaking wet, trailing water into the guest room of the Alcamoth. He got funny looks from the party and even the High Entia in passing. "No wonder you look exhausted and were soaked when you came back. And thanks to you, I got an earful from Dunban and Sharla!"

Shulk scratched his head. "Sorry, sorry. I know. It's not easy holding your breath for about a minute with 15 second reprieves consecutively."

"That's not safe, you know." A certain medic replied after Shulk's comment. "Shallow water blackout, you heard of that? And in relation, surface blackout?"

Everyone turned to see Sharla, peering closer at Shulk's writing as she stood above Melia. She sat next to her, taking point with Reyn crossing her legs. Reyn shrugged at the questions, and Melia tilted her head in confusion. "Blackout?" Melia asked. "Losing consciousness I presume?"

"And with your context..." Shulk continued. "It has to do with holding your breath for far too long in water due to the lack of urge to breathe...? It leads to drowning, of course."

Sharla never ceased to be impressed with Shulk's ability to put two and two together. "You are absolutely correct. I won't bother with the details, but if I catch you doing this, I will personally punch you."

Melia giggled as she saw Reyn and Shulk's faces turn to dismay. Those threats from her are not to be taken lightly. Reyn got hit from her far too many times with the "What did I tell you?" and "You heard me say it and you didn't listen to me!" retorts.

As Shulk was fixated onto Sharla's warning, Reyn took it upon himself to take the large book from Shulk's lap and flip through the pages quickly. Shulk groaned, wondering what his friend will scribble on there. Occasionally, he would write silly comments under his entries. Yet, he would feel guilty erasing some of them. (Except his suggestive and near explicit writings. That was an instant cross out or erasing.)

"And you still kept my comment on the Heart Peach looking like a butt!" Reyn grinned widely as he held the with his left hand, pointing at his quick scribble beneath Shulk's paragraphs of text. He redrew the Heart Peach which looked more like a heart upside down with only an outline and absent shading of lighting. Beneath it was a curved arrow pointing to the crease of the peach and a scribble saying, _Hey, it's a butt!_ Even worse, Riki also appeared to have written beneath Reyn's comment with his extra large capital letters that filled up a fourth of the page, writing: _RIKI LIKES REYN'S THOUGHTS FOR ONCE!_

Sharla groaned and Melia shifted her eyes away from the sketch. Shulk snatched the large book from Reyn and proceeded to cross out that commentary with a single straight line. Beneath it, he writes: _Excuse Reyn as usual._ Unfortunately, Shulk didn't notice this because Reyn must have written this after finishing collecting all items from the Alcamoth, which was a few days ago. Then he realized that he might have scribbled other silly comments throughout the book and he'd have to go through every single page...

"Even more reason to stay awake... Thanks a bunch, Reyn..." Shulk muttered quietly. But he didn't cross the comment out completely as opposed to those suggestive comments...

"Ah, lively as usual in the crowd. What's going on?"

"Riki wants to know! Riki wonders what friends talk about!"

And now the whole party is gathered. Dunban proceeded to kneel behind Reyn and Riki jumped onto Melia's lap. Melia began to rub Riki's stomach in return, getting silent "Oooh"s and "Aah"s from the Heropon.

Melia offered her right hand out and asked Shulk, "May I see the book? I'd like to quickly scan through all of things you've seen on the Bionis so far that caught your attention."

Shulk nodded and gave the book to Melia. Melia underestimated the weight of the book as her hand was lowered as soon as she received it. "Wow... this is indeed heavy."

"You should have seen it before... Reyn and I used to put the objects we collected on here, but it became too heavy. So I opted to draw instead. Although... I have everyone else draw animals and some insects. They are not my forte."

Melia opened the first page to see a Table of Contents. To the left was written the locations of Bionis: Colony 9, Tephra Cave, Bionis' Leg... up to the High Entia Tomb. And to the right of each location on the opposite end of the page was a number. It must be the page it started. And goodness, to think Shulk even kept track of the pages? She didn't see a page number written anywhere on Shulk's entries. To think he counted and kept track of them...

She then proceeded to turn to a random page further in the book. She turned to the entry about the Crimson Citrus, which was found in Frontier Village. Shulk did the sketch, as shown with his accurate shading and outlines. As usual, he made a short description of the fruit as follows:

_Looks hot because of the red pulp, but it's just bitter really._

And then following the short summary was a paragraph of its findings and afterwards paragraphs on its influence on Nopon cuisine.

_"I remember this! I ate this because Riki gave me one! I loved it!"_ Melia said to herself.

Melia turned the page to find something peculiar: someone else's handwriting. It was clearly not Reyn's handwriting, as it was neatly written, but it differed greatly from Shulk. The letters were large and the spacing between the letters and words were quite big. The sentence was as written:

_This fruit was delicious! To think something this bitter could taste so good... I have to thank Riki and Oka for giving this to me. And Reyn's face when he ate it... I never seen him flustered ever eating a fruit!_

Melia heard giggles to her left. Sharla was grinning as she noticed the entry she was reading. "I wrote this about five days ago. Hey Melia, didn't you like this fruit too?"

"It was marvelous! I could eat a whole crate of these fruits!"

Riki was wiggling happily on Melia's lap, hearing the compliments of the fruit. It was one of his favorite fruits too that he loved to share with Oka and his children. If Sharla and especially Melia loved the Crimson Citrus, it was an instant thumbs up to himself.

"Riki is very happy Melly and Sharla love fruit! Riki will give large crates to Sharla and Melly when travels is finished!"

As Sharla, Riki and Melia were small talking about the fruit, Shulk noticed looks of disdain on Dunban and Reyn. Shulk chuckled. It was pretty obvious for their reaction towards the girls' conversation. It was more intriguing that Dunban didn't like this fruit either.

"I couldn't eat a single fruit two days after that..." Dunban muttered.

Meiia continued to flip through each page of the book. As she scanned them, she noticed that the commentaries after Shulk's plethora of words became more common with the latter entries. In the entries on Colony 9 to Colony 6, there were rarely any comments except for Reyn's sporadic words. But from the Ether Mine onwards, comments from Dunban and Sharla became more prevalent. Even Riki began to write comments here and there after entries on Makna Forest.

She turned to an entry on the Empress Beetle that was from Makna Forest. Melia saw the final comments of the beetle were from Dunban. His handwriting was rough and somewhat messy, but it was forgivable since Dunban was forced to use his opposite hand to write. His writing style was quite unique... As opposed to simple commentary, he wrote his thoughts on a poem form. Centered in the middle of the page and lines spaced out beneath each other, his entry read:

_At its final hour_

_crossing the line to the world beyond_

_it brings forth its ethereal radiance_

_as its final cry_

_imprinting its existence onto Bionis itself._

"Your poems simply never cease to amaze me..." Sharla commented, nodding her head as she read each line again in her head.

"Oh my... how thoughtful of you, Dunban! I didn't know you write poetry." Melia complimented as she began to skim through the pages for more of Dunban's writings.

Riki wiggled again as he finished reading the short poem. Impressed, he yelled, "Dundun is very good in writing! Riki must learn how to write from Dundun!" He crawled onto Melia's right leg to get a better view of the book. He too kept an eye out for Dunban's poems.

"Thank you both. At least you two and Sharla have a great taste in writing..." Dunban replied, then leered at the two youngsters in front of him. "...unlike these two, with one solely writing far too straightforward and the other not giving a care in the world about artistic writings!"

"You write like a girl, Dunban!" Reyn bluntly commented at loud. Shulk added in a polite tone, "I'm sorry Dunban... it's just that... the fact you started writing like this because Fiora was excited for reading your poems... It's... endearing?"

Dunban felt like Shulk struck a nerve more than Reyn. He laughed sarcastically. "Haha. Don't make me say all of the embarrassing things you've done for Fiora's sake. Shall I tell everyone here about them?"

"N-No! Please don't!" Shulk waved his hands back and forth. "Please...!"

"Thought so..."

Melia, Sharla, and Riki found two more of Dunban's poems and were still taken aback by them. As Melia continued to browse, an overwhelming urge began to set in... the urge to contribute to this large book of observations, memories, and artistic skill. Melia wasn't the type to write personal things at all. She never had a journal or diary. She only wrote when it was necessary, whether it be for learning or imperial writings. But to see everyone write their thoughts together in one place... maybe it was an outlet to learn about herself too in addition with this lively group of people. _"Is it possible...?"_ She asked herself.

"S-Shulk...?"

"Mm?" Shulk placed his full attention to Melia, who stopped turning the pages of the large tome.

"Is it possible that... I could start writing in this book of yours? I absolutely love how everyone is writing here, whether it be serious or not. It's so entertaining to read... And I never wrote about such trivial things before..."

It was an immediate answer. "Of course you can! It wouldn't hurt if one more person joined in on this anyway. I'd love to see what you would write here, Melia. I'm looking forward to it."

The High Entia princess turned a shade of pink and she looked down quickly to hide her face. "I must thank you. Well then... I-I must read a few more entries so I may start writing about them!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Riki wants to help Melly write!" Riki went back to sitting between Melia's crossed legs and folded his ears. He leaned back a bit allowing Melia to be able to write easily.

"Of course, Riki. You may join me in reading and writing."

Sharla yawned and stretched her arms up into the sky. The large dinner the party had earlier was taking a toll on her. "It seems I've reached my limit. If you three will be awake, I will sleep now."

"Same here...!" Reyn yawned too. "Some shut eye will do me good!"

Dunban stood up nodded to the party. "I will also rest too. Shulk, be on lookout. We'll switch later."

"Understood. Please rest well, you three."

As the three proceeded to leave. Shulk stood up as well. He faced Melia and Riki, saying, "I'll have to be on a lookout, so you two can stay here and write. I'll come back in a bit."

"Okay. Be careful." Melia replied, smiling. She then returned to the book, ever excited to see the next sentences that were waiting to be read.

—

It has been about an hour since Sharla, Reyn, and Dunban left the three to write on Shulk's book. Shulk was already feeling a bit sleepy from keeping an eye out around the area as Melia and Riki diligently wrote on the book and Reyn, Sharla, and Dunban were sleeping. There was no sign of monsters approaching the vicinity from all directions. Even his inner thoughts of what may happen the next day ran dry, hence drowsiness. To keep himself up, he might as well check on Melia and Riki. He stood up from the large, flat rock he was on and stretched his arms out, facing Melia and Riki. They haven't budged. They were still reading the book.

The boy proceeded to approach to the two to check progress. As he got close, he asked, "What do you think? You wrote anything yet?"

Melia heard Shulk's voice from her right and looked up. He was now kneeling next to her, scanning to see if she wrote anything. "No. I read the entire time. Riki fell asleep in the process."

Riki was drooling cuddled under Melia's left hand. She didn't seem to mind at all.

"Haha..." Shulk chuckled at Riki's sleeping position.

Melia realized one thing as she was reading. It finally got to her as Shulk approached her. She cleared her throat and asked, "Um... this book... did you name it yet?"

Shulk raised an eyebrow, and then it hit him. Goodness. He had this book for so long and he realized he never named it! "I-I didn't actually! Good point... it needs a name..."

The boy's habit of crossing his left arm and touching his chin with his right hand occurred again. In awkward silence, he tried to think of a name... but nothing. Then something got to him after Melia blankly looked at him for a good twenty seconds. "Why don't you name it, Melia? I wouldn't mind if you name it."

"Y-You sure?" She asked, surprised. "It's all so sudden..."

"Really. You can name it."

"Hmmm..."

Melia stared down at Shulk's blocks of text. Words and thoughts filled her head to get a decent name for this large book of colorful things. _"Collecting objects... Shulk writes as if it was a scientific journal... everyone's thoughts are gathered here... Collection... Encyclopedia... Oh!"_

"I got it!" Melia clapped her hands once in excitement. Shulk was amazed Melia thought of a name so quickly. "How about... "_Collectopedia_?" It combines the words collection and encyclopedia."

"Wow... I really like that name!" Shulk complimented Melia, smiling widely. He never would have thought of that name. And it was catchy too. "I'm sure everyone else will like it too. Good job, Melia."

"T-Thank you!" Melia felt her cheeks grow pink again. "This book is far too amazing... It's like a textbook that's actually quite interesting to read, as opposed to the dull history books back at home."

"I-Is that so..." Shulk laughed lightly at her compliment. He himself was feeling a little nervous from that too.

"Actually..." Shulk cleared his throat. Melia closed the Collectopedia and faced him after she felt her pink cheeks return to normal.

"The reason for this is... well... after my recovery following the ether deficiency illnesses I suffered, doctors, and even Fiora and Dunban asked if I can write a journal to keep track of my memories. Considering I suffered amnesia, they believe it may happen again, so to ensure I'd retain them or at least fragments of them, I can write about it. It didn't sit well with me to write personal things... especially since Reyn and Fiora at times could read them so... I decided to write about objects instead. And then this Collectopedia came about. I thought it would be nice to have everyone pitch in their thoughts to make my writings less dull, hence everyone's work within this book. Even if your comments are silly, as long as it is not inappropriate, it'll be kept here."

"My..." Melia was amazed on how this business was all from his childhood too. She thought this was recent, but it wasn't the case. And how nice of him to have everyone, including Reyn and Riki, to write on this book of findings.

"Additionally, it was good practice to write up my reports for the Monado. Fiora would read them over to see if my writing was correct. Now, Sharla and Dunban proofread them."

"Oh... well... do you mind if I can proofread your work?"

Another immediate answer from the Heir to the Monado. "Not at all. I'd be glad to have three people to make sure my writing is accurate and correct."

"Thank you. It would be nice practice for myself to for the paperwork I must do soon for my people."

"Right..." Shulk nodded. Melia was heir to the throne for the High Entia. It must be tedious to be writing so much too. This would be good stress relief for her as well.

"My last request of you for tonight... May I ask?" Melia asked shyly. There was so much she asked of him lately. Hopefully it wouldn't bother him...

"Of course. Let's hear it."

"If you're not that tired, do you mind reading your entries out loud as we read along? It's interesting to hear writing out loud, especially from the author themselves."

"Hm... I never thought of doing this before..." Shulk admitted. He wasn't the type to read his own work aloud anyway since he obviously assumed no one would be interested in his "geeky" writing. (Thanks to Dunban back in Believer's Paradise on Bionis' Leg. He appeared to seem uninterested when he spoke this way, even though he was paying some attention.) But to think one person would take a liking to his overly analyzed observations...

"I'd gladly do it. This is a new thing for me. I'd like to see this for myself. So..." Shulk sat to Melia's right, leaning in on the newly named Collectopedia. "What entry would you like me to read?"

"Hm..." Melia turned the page to the beginning. Who knew, it was the very first entry: The Sweet Wasabi.

"All right... Brace yourself Melia. You'll be sitting through this class all night long. It may take a few days, actually." Shulk smiled, placing his finger on the short description beneath his sketch of the wasabi.

There was nothing to do for Melia but grin. Hearing Shulk's voice all night was already a reward in itself. "I'm all ears."

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. The collectopedia the party brings along with them initially had some objects preserved, but the weight that came along with became too overbearing. It was then simply written in detail and in sketches.

2\. Shulk has good writing and drawing abilities, mainly from his Monado research. He puts most detail into drawing mechanical parts. The only thing he can't draw is animals and some insects, which he leaves the rest of the party to do. He writes far too much in writing every entry though, even to the point where he writes a short summary beneath the sketch of its unique features and then a whole page or two beneath into full detail of what was being collected.

3\. Reyn and Riki write silly comments and doodles throughout the Collectopedia.

4\. Fiora and Dunban suggested Shulk to write a diary of sorts just in case amnesia were to happen to him again. (Applying his blurred memory from events prior to returning to Colony 9 from Ose Tower). He didn't like writing personal things, so he opted to write about things to collect instead. Fiora would usually read them to proofread his work and to make sure his writing was accurate and grammatically correct at the observations section. This job was taken over by Melia, Dunban, and Sharla.

5\. Dunban sometimes writes poems and haikus beneath the collectopedia entries. This was due to Fiora's interest in poetry. He gets teased by Reyn and Shulk for this, but Melia, Riki and Sharla are awestruck by his poetic skill.

6\. Melia loves to hear Shulk read the Collectopedia entries aloud, as well as how he wrote about each item. They do this every night if they are not exhausted from the long day's travels and fights.

* * *

**A/N: HOLY CRACKERS, SO MANY HEADCANONS IN ONE ONESHOT. I've always wondered what the collectopedia in the game had any significance to the party and then… these ideas happened. This also came about after doing some random doodles of collectopedia items on Miiverse. As to what object to use to introduce this, I always found the "lol what does this button do" scene hilarious, and I wanted to include it so... yeah. And also for the shallow water blackout thing, I made it tie into an entry and a reminder that it's pretty much feeling like summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, so don't do it people!**

**The other two oneshots I said I write were in heavy writer's block, so this came about and was written beforehand.**  
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**As a reminder, these are the following oneshots in development:**

**-Reyn, Sharla, Melia - Babysitting / Summary: Sharla proposed that Riki should spend time with his wife Oka through a date, and this meant babysitting their kids. Of course, it won't be easy with 8 littlepon running around...**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**-Egil, Vanea, Meyneth - Determination / Summary: His brethren slaughtered and his goddess weakened and forced into a state of long slumber. It was then Egil decided to use his talents to bring his wrath upon Zanza and Bionis.**

**-Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - Unbreakable Bond / Summary: Reyn and Fiora were close friends. And now a shy four year old moves into Colony 9. From his scared and sorrowful eyes and the pain he endured, there was only one thing the two could do: to be by his side.**

**Sketches of some collectopedia entries are now added on my profile. Be sure to look at them.**

**Once again until then, I'll accept and take into consideration any reviews and criticism.**


	8. Reyn, Sharla - Reawakened Passion

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

8\. Reyn, Sharla - Reawakened Passion

Summary: Based on and takes place before the Heart-to-Heart _Reawakened Memories_. After the revelation of Jade Face, Reyn is getting restless with his feelings for Sharla. Who else to ask but the Heir to the Monado for advice? (Takes place after the events of Agniratha, before the events of Mechonis Core.)

Pairings: Reyn x Sharla, Shulk x Fiora (minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Frontier Village late at night is such a pleasant place to be. After the bustling of the busy Nopon from dawn to dusk, things quiet down at the village. Only the sound of crickets, the Makna breeze, and the Nopon working at night shifts fill the air (which isn't that bad).

After the reawakening of Mechonis, the party needed to gather their thoughts and strength for the upcoming struggle against Egil. Everyone believed Dunban when he stated that they'd had to get his hands dirty with him, hence some rest before their confrontation. With the bustling from all other places such as the Alcamoth, Colony 6 and 9, and the Machina Village, it was everyone's agreement to rest at Frontier Village. On the way to the village though, Reyn was somewhat quiet, to everyone's concern. The party along the journey to Riki's village asked him periodically if something was bothering him. He only responded with a "Nothin'" or "Just getting myself ready to turn Egil into scrap."

Reyn sat at the edge of a long plank across the Mysterious Sanctuary entrance, head down and fists on his lap. He was troubled so much to point that the time he passed by the sanctuary, he wasn't baffled at the physics of Apex Lake (which he always questions out loud every time he went by it.) He stared down at the water beneath him. It seemed so small, considering how high up he was.

"Of all the places to be, of course you'd be here, Reyn."

"…Gr… can it, Shulk…"

Shulk let go of his hand on Reyn's right shoulder and took a seat to his right. He carefully and slowly sat down to prevent slipping and falling, which would have been an embarrassing feat. As soon as he settled on his position, he sighed and looked up at the starry sky and the water beyond, which was Eryth Sea. Sparkling stars admist the ocean water above was some sight to behold, as it could never be seen anywhere else on Bionis. "Looks amazing, huh?"

"Yeah… whatever man…" Reyn muttered still staring down at the reservoir below.

The Heir to the Monado groaned in disappointment. Reyn was the type to admire scenery (though he may not look like it), and him not staring up in the sky was another giveaway on how down his best friend is. Fortunately, he was really easy to read.

"It's about Sharla, isn't it?"

"Nothin' gets past you, mate." Reyn finally lifted his head. He faced Shulk, slightly frowning. Shulk was taken aback by his friend's expression. "You know… I kinda envy you. You and Fiora…"

"Wh-Wh… what do you mean?" Shulk turned red at Reyn's confession.

Reyn took a short breath and sighed. After a few seconds of silence to gather up his will to confess, he finally answers, "Ever since we found out Gadolt's alive… More like, ever since we met her, Sharla's been chasing Gadolt all over, kinda like you going after Fiora after we found out she's alive. That's pretty admirable, you know? No wonder Fiora's smitten by you and… well me to Sharla. Fiora knows you like her."

"Reyn…"

Shulk lost words after Reyn answered him. There were many things Reyn admitted he was jealous of him for and vice versa, but this was certainly something he didn't expect.

He continued, saying, "Once this is all over, I dunno what Sharla's going to do. Highly doubt she'll fall for me. Her heart's with Gadolt after all… I'm left in the dust… Shulk this…"

Reyn's voice was beginning to crack slightly. "This is the first time I ever fell for a girl, you know? Fiora had always been a best friend to me, the rest of the Colony 9 girls were just mates. Sharla's just… she's… ughh… I can't even begin to describe her!"

Reyn lowered his head in defeat, staring at his hands that were no longer forming fists. They were red from the tight clenches he held the entire time. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his right leg. Shulk was looking up to him, smiling slightly.

"Does this mean you'll give up? This isn't the Reyn I know."

"S-Sh-"

"I'm not finished." Shulk crossed his arms. "Because of what happened to Gadolt, you and Juju are all Sharla ever have to lean on. You have to be there for her, but at the same time, give her space. In due time, she'll be able to move on. The only thing you can do is make her smile."

Reyn felt something pull on his chest, but it was relieving. He grinned widely. Nothing can get past his best friend, let alone who better to ask for such advice.

"Make her smile, huh…"

Reyn was smiling even more widely, but he had a cocky look too with his eyebrows curling downwards. Shulk felt a lump on his throat. That feeling along with seeing Reyn's grin always meant one thing…

"R-Reyn… what are you-"

"Hey Shulk, I got a question for you: remember back in Galahad Fortress, you being a nutcase jumping off to save Fiora?"

Shulk scratched his head at the question. How could he forget that, along with what is with this question having to do with anything relevant? "Y-Yes…? And no, I'm not a nutcase! You'd do the same thing if it was Sharla, right?!"

"Hm… good point…" Reyn muttered, then quickly shaking his head. "Okay, continuing! Riki told me that jumping from plank here down to the water below shows someone's love for someone. If I jump off this plank here and Sharla sees it from the reservoir down there, then Sharla will definitely be awed by it!"

"Now wait a minute!" Shulk stood up carefully and then looked down at Reyn, now frowning. "Considering Sharla, I'm sure she's going to yell at you for this, despite the Nopon custom! You're going to get hurt from the fall! And trust me, it hurts a lot! You have no idea how awful it felt falling from Galahad Fortress! I really thought I was going to die after I hit the water!"

Shulk recalled that awful feeling about a week ago, really believing he was going to die as well as Fiora from the impact. Even though the scale of the fall from the plank to reservoir was nowhere near close from the Mechonis' Sword to the ocean below, it was going to hurt…

"We aren't in Galahad Fortress, man! This'll be like when I pushed you off the bridge near Dunban's house and vice versa many times!"

"It still hurt! And no, this height is far greater th-"

Reyn noticed two shadows at the corner of his left eye below him. He leaned forward a bit to get a closer and look. Luckily, it was the two people he wanted to see.

"Reyn, you-!"

—

Below near the reservoir, Sharla and Fiora strolled at the water's edge. After a nice meal cooked by Melia, Riki, and Dunban, they needed to walk off the ingested calories. It was cool night, so by Sharla's recommendation, she suggested to hang around the reservoir. Sharla stretched her arms out and laid her rifle down at the grass in front of the water's edge.

"Ah, Riki, Melia, and Dunban's cooking are simply the best!"

"Totally. They have to teach me some recipes, so I can try making them at home." Fiora didn't get to eat much as she had no appetite for being a half Machina, but her taste buds didn't change at least.

"Going to top them, huh? I have to watch out for you, master chef. I can see why."

"H-Hey…" Fiora blushed. "What do you me-"

Fiora was interrupted by the sound of... hollering and screaming. And it was hollering and screaming from the two most familiar voices she heard in her life. And it was coming from above to her left. Sharla was also startled and turned to see what the fuss was about it. It only took a second to realize who the voices were, and Sharla groaned, slapping her forehead with her left hand.

"Those knuckleheads...!"

As soon as she growled, two loud splashes came about to the girls' left. The impact was so strong that even Fiora and Sharla got splattered a little by the reservoir water. The sniper and the hybrid Machina shielded themselves with their arms, trying to cover their heads from the water, but they got a little wet with some sprinkles.

"Goodness gracious! Reyn! Shulk!" Fiora called out loud, cuffing her mechanical hands around her mouth to project her voice more loudly as they were submerged into the water.

Sharla sighed, crossing her arms and frowning. "What on earth were they thinking...?"

"BWAHHH-!" "Ahh!"

Sharla and Fiora saw the two boys appear on the reservoir's surface, gasping for air. As soon as they caught their breath, they began a flurry of loud yelling.

"Reyn! Why'd you have to push me?!"

"You were going to chicken out!"

"I never wanted to do this in the first place!"

"Yeah right!"

"I didn't!"

Sharla had enough with the bickering. She placed her hands on her hips and yelled out to the boys, "Reyn! Shulk! Come here! NOW!"

Reyn and Shulk grew quiet and faced Sharla, glaring daggers at them. Reyn sunk himself lower in the water up to his chin, anxious. "Oh man... She's furious!"

"See! What did I tell you!"

Shulk noticed Fiora crossing her arms and slightly frowning, but not as much of a degree compared to Sharla. Still, he knew Fiora hated Shulk doing silly stunts with Reyn. He was going to get a nice long lecture from her. "Great... I'm going to get an earful from her. Thanks a bunch Reyn..."

—

After swimming back to shore and a slap to the face and ear pulling by Sharla and a frown from Fiora, Reyn went off to dry himself off and get a new change of clothes. Now wearing a variant of his usual Defense Force clothes colored green as opposed to orange, Reyn stood waiting at the Nopon Tower in front of Frontier Village. Shulk believed it would be better to explain their stunt separately so Reyn could get some time alone with Sharla, hopefully for a chance to say what was in his heart. (He would also do the same for Fiora, Reyn obviously knew that wasn't going to happen.)

He didn't have to wait long as he heard Sharla's footsteps behind him. She approached him cross armed and frowning. "You dolt. You got some explaining to do. And I want the truth."

Reyn flinched as he saw Sharla's frowning face. He scratched his head. "The truth? Well... It's like this..." Reyn took a deep breath and sighed.

"You know about the plank up there in the tree? Where Nopon jumped off to show their devotion to another? I uh... saw you down there in the reservoir and I jumped!"

Sharla groaned, unfolding her arms. "Reyn... you do realize there was more to that stunt?"

Reyn raised an eyebrow. "What? There's more?!"

"Yes! The Nopon below had to catch the one that jumped from the plank!"

Reyn felt as if the platform he stood on fell apart. How idiotic he felt now! But at the same time, a certain Heropon didn't elaborate more on that custom when he asked about it earlier... _"Riki...! That furball didn't tell me everything to that tradition!" _

Reyn also had a picture on his mind about the additional information. Sharla catching him at the bottom? _"She would simply watch me fall..."_ Reyn sighed again. "D-Darn... then, all it was a stupid jump... and I pushed Shulk too..."

The sharpshooter shook her head. "You better give Shulk an apology later. And Reyn! You know how dangerous it is to fall from such heights!"

"I know..."

Sharla shook her head, knowing this isn't going to get far, considering all the other bickering debates they had over the past few weeks. She looked up at the night sky, seeing the stars grow brighter and brighter. It was past midnight, and it was pointless to stay up. "Look, it's getting late. We should rest up for tomorrow."

"Uh... yeah." Reyn was feeling drowsy too, even though he had a splash earlier.

"I'll see you in the morning, Reyn. Remember, I don't want you doing these things again, you hear me?"

"I hear ya..." Reyn replied quietly. He slightly turned to the side, trying to hide his look of disappointment. Sharla was too upset with him that he couldn't even tell her straight about how he truly felt... _"I guess another time then... And I won't give up." _Reyn made a fist with his right hand, grinning._  
_

Sharla began to head inside the village to join Melia and Fiora, taking a last glance at the big knucklehead who simply shrugged as he watched her. As she turned to face forward, she felt her cheeks go red. _"But, the thought of jumping at the sight of me... and for me too, just like in Galahad Fortress. Reyn... you..."_

She rubbed her cheeks lightly. Sharla couldn't let Fiora and Melia see her like this, or else, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Reyn is secretly envious of Shulk with his relationship with Fiora, as it isn't as simple as his relationship with Sharla because of her eyes set on Gadolt.

2\. Reyn and Shulk fell off the plank in Frontier Village by pushing each other off when they saw Sharla and Fiora at the edge of the reservoir. Fiora was a little angry but mostly charmed by their stunt. Sharla was not amused, but secretly flattered by it.

3\. Reyn and Shulk pushed each other off the bridge in front of Dunban's house often when they were kids.

**A/N: I know the game's physics is that falling off any height into water does not yield any HP loss… But come on… the fall from Galahad Fortress must have been something, right?**

**That heart-to-heart between Fiora and Sharla was so cute, so I wondered if Shulk and Reyn had something similar to it with the same context… then this came about. Reyn is such an adorable nut!  
**

**This is was definitely not my best one-shot. Even though it was more straight to the point, it wasn't as deep as I wanted it to be. I haven't gotten much inspiration lately, let alone my summer being so busy. Oh well.**

**The following one-shots are in development:**

**-Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - Unbreakable Bond / Summary: Based on the oneshots Rebirth and Necklaces. Reyn and Fiora were close friends. And now a shy four year old moves into Colony 9 from Colony 1. From his scared and sorrowful eyes and the pain he endured, there was only one thing the two could do: to be by his side.**

**-Dunban, Fiora - All That Remains / Summary: Based on the heart-to-heart _Revisiting the Past_. It's a big brother's duty to make sure to not make his little sister sad, even at the cost of his own safety. But the payoff lasts a lifetime: strengthening the bond of siblings that can never break.**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**The first was made at the advice of a reviewer and the second is something I couldn't pass up. It'll take some time though. Hopefully my creativity won't wear out.**

**Until then, I appreciate all reviews and criticism. **


	9. Dickson, Shulk - Teacher and Student

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

9\. Dickson, Shulk - Teacher and Student  


Summary: Pregame. Slight tie in with the oneshots Rebirth and Necklaces. Dickson was never good with dealing with kids. And now he has to raise one.

Pairings: None

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Dickson was scratching his head and sighing as he stood in front of the Military District's Research Lab door. He hated seeing kids around the district cause they would distract defense force soldiers or be in the range of coming into contact with weapons and whatnot.

But now, he has no choice in the matter.

"I know it doesn't look like it… but here's your new home! Made space for ya' by yours truly."

Dickson felt like an idiot as he introduced the lab to the young lad next to him standing to his right.

The boy stared at the large door, holding his hands in front of his chest and making a fist with both hands, shaking. This will be his first time living with someone he wasn't all too familiar with. And this was unavoidable. His memories were muggy, but one thing is for sure: his parents aren't with him anymore. Colony 1, where he originally was from, is destroyed and inhabited by Mechon. And now he'll be living with the old man working on machines, weapons, and new inventions hiding away at the Military District.

"I know it's going to be uncomfortable for you, Shulk. But you'll get used to it eventually. And if you need anything, just ask. I won't bite."

"…." He looked down at his black and red shoes to avoid eye contact with Dickson. The old man growled to himself. He didn't like this idea much, but he couldn't do anything about it, for more reasons than one.

The obvious idea would be that Dunban were to take him in. But Dunban was only 16 years old, and though he's awfully mature for his age, he had a handful taking care of himself, Fiora, and Reyn at times. Dickson often caught him exhausted from the mix of Defense Force training, running around scolding Reyn, and getting himself involved with Fiora's hobbies. Adding a shy 4 year old who is constantly hiding from him would not make things any easier for the teen, so Dickson told Dunban it would be better for him to watch over Shulk.

Though Dickson would have to doubt himself about his abilities of taking care of a kid. He's always too busy with his work that he would block out whatever was not relating to his work around him. This happened once when he was repairing several defense force weapons and didn't notice Reyn running around carrying a knife. Additionally, he believed he had a strange aura and ability to make children uncomfortable when he's around them. And he concluded it was due to his old man appearance. (Which he wasn't too proud of. He missed looking young.) The only exceptions were Reyn, Fiora, and Desiree, cause he's always around them.

But the last reason, which he never told a soul to, was cause of Zanza. No harm should come to his lord's vessel. And he wouldn't forgive himself if that were to happen. Zanza even dumped in more responsibility when he mentioned that he'd let his new vessel retain his sense of self. Cause of this, Zanza would not have direct control over his vessel's body. Whatever danger the vessel would get himself in, the god of Bionis would get tied up in it. Though Zanza is able to nullify any death related to ether deficiency for his vessel, his vessel could still die from external injuries. Dickson needed to avoid that at all costs.

In order to keep a close eye on the boy, Dickson had to insist that he would take him in. The old mechanic knows everyone in Colony 9, but didn't trust anyone enough to watch the timid kid.

Dickson looked down to his right to see Shulk still staring down at his own feet. The man scratched his head and frowned. He hasn't heard him say a word since he got better after the hybrid 4 elemental ether crystal he retrieved, crafted into a necklace, and gave to the four year old. (He dreaded doing this, as the crystal was a royal pain to get.) He only got a quiet 'Thank you so much, I feel better now.' Dickson felt bad for the boy since he was left alone case Reyn and Fiora had to go to school, and since Shulk wasn't officially enrolled yet, he couldn't join the two until next week. So for now, he'd had to stay with old Dickson from 9 AM to 2 PM every weekday.

_"Such a shy boy…"_ Dickson muttered in his head. "Well!" He said aloud. "Time to show you your room."

Dickson slid the iron doors open by pushing the right side of the door to the right and vice versa with the left side. Shulk looked up to see a somewhat dim hallway leading downstairs, and within the room that is directly at the entrance of the facility were about 4 doors, two on each side. Dickson walked in and motioned his hand by having his fingers move towards him. "Come here kid."

Shulk, still holding his hands near his chest, walk slowly inside to stand next to Dickson. The old man pointed to his right where two doors stood next to each other. "My room is on the left. Yours will be on the right. The former tenant moved out, so it's empty now. You'll sleep in there. Understand?"

"Mmm…" The boy replied with his voice barely audible and nodding quietly.

"Look inside." Dickson told Shulk as he opened the door to the boy's room. Shulk walked towards Dickson and peeked in. It was somewhat small, having a single bed with a white pillow and sheets positioned horizontally towards the wall facing him at the left corner, with the head of the bed at the corner itself. To the right was a dresser with 3 metal drawers. On the right wall was a wide desk and a metal chair. At the left wall was a large gray cabinet. It appears that it held clothes in there. Other than those furniture, there was nothing else.

Dickson scratched his head at the somewhat empty room. "I know it definitely doesn't look like a room for a kid your age, but you can do what you want in terms of decorating. Put up a few crayon drawings or crafts up if you want. Just don't have food lying around there, got it?"

Shulk looked up at the Dickson and nodded quietly again. He lowered his arms to his side. Dickson assumed that by peeking in the boy's new bedroom, at least he would ease up and start talking, but he hasn't said anything, let alone ask a question. The two looked at each other in silently and with each passing second, it grew awkward. The boy was simply staring at him. Dickson quietly asked himself, _"Geez, what else could this kid want?"_ Dickson was trying to think of a plethora of questions the boy could have. Food, any place that's forbidden within the building, more food, if he could talk to the other tenants, food again…

"Uh…" Dickson crossed his arms. "You may be thinking, where to eat? Well, sorry to disappoint ya, but you gotta get into town for that. I normally visit town or visit Dunban to use his kitchen. If I'm not around, just visit him, he'll make you something if I'm not awake or whatnot."

"…" Shulk said nothing, only nodding silently. The mechanic sighed. _"As much as I love my own voice, I'm getting tired of only hearing that…"_ He said to himself. What other possible things does the boy need to know?

"Oh, also… Bathroom's through the door across from your's, then down hallway, second door to the left."

"…" The boy didn't even nod in acknowledgment. Rather, he furrowed his eyebrows upward, looking confused. Dickson groaned lowly, feeling more awkward than ever. He has to deal with this for the next fourteen years? This wasn't going to end well. Dickson muttered in his head, _"I apologize in what you're seeing, Lord Zanza, if you're awake or whatever…"_

Dickson looked down at his left wrist to glance at his silver watch. 12 PM. Reyn and Fiora would be out of school in two hours, which means Shulk would join them and he'd finally get some alone and relief time. Since he was interrupted by this kid's recovery, he was behind in his joint projects with Xord. Now he has to catch up a few days' worth of sweat and annoyance.

"Uh… I'll be working at my lab down the stairs. You can do whatever here, just don't get yourself in trouble."

Dickson turned to exit, waving his hand forward. Shulk watched the old man leave without saying word.

—

"Goodness, I forgot about this… Xord will have my head…" Dickson growled, trying to steady himself putting the small gear in place in an opened silver watch.

Xord told Dickson three days ago that he accidentally broke his watch, which was given to him by Desiree. She bought the watch from months of allowance, and Xord treasured that watch by always wearing it. He got carried away in his work and it was broken during his work. Desiree was so upset that her crying made Xord cry too. (He was a sensitive guy… a bit too sensitive.) Hence, he turned to Dickson to repair it so Desiree would be happy again.

In order to hold the gear in place, he needed a blue bead chain. He scanned his desktop to find a chain, but it was nowhere. "The hell I put it? I had it here a second ago!" Dickson slammed his left hand on the desk and groaned. "Where's that damn thi-" Before Dickson could slam his hand again, he felt a tap on his right arm. "Huh?"

Dickson turned to his right to see Shulk holding out something on his right palm. Dickson looked at the object, and it was the very thing he needed. A small chain of blue beads. "Oh, you found it, kid. Where was it?" He asked as he took the chain from his small palm. Shulk pointed behind him at the entrance to the lab, at the floor.

"It fell there? How the hell it get there?" Dickson asked. The boy didn't say anything and shrugged.

"Well… I appreciate it, kid. Now that you helped me find this part, I can fix this watch now. Now I can make Xord and his daughter happy and spare myself some yelling. I had enough high blood pressure this past week…" Dickson resumed his repairs, lowering his head down to get a better glimpse at the watch. "Me and my damn big hands… Being old stinks…"

Dickson continued to growl and moan at his work, but he didn't notice the little boy watching him intently from a distance, silently.

—

Shulk, now seventeen, wiped his forehead from the small amount of sweat that built up from hours of being holed up in the lab.

"Ugh… this is so frustrating…" He stared at his left to observe the large blueprint he drew. It was a pen and pencil sketch of a scrapdriver, a weapon that acted as both a shield and a large blade. This would be his biggest project yet because it would be the first weapon made customized for his best friend. Reyn had a large growth spurt, so the scrapdriver had to be adjusted for his height and arm length and width. But how to balance the weight of the weapon, as well as make do with the parts he had in hand? Because at the moment, they were lacking.

"What are you moaning about, kid?" A deep voice emerged from behind the boy. It was old man Dickson standing at the entrance of the lab.

"Oh, Dickson!" Shulk stood up from his chair and approached the traveling merchant.

"What are you busting your head over? It's 6 AM in the morning, what the hell are you doing up? Wait…" Dickson crossed his arms and frowned. "You didn't sleep again, did you?"

"I…"

"Go to sleep, you stupid kid!" Dickson lightly punched the boy's head. "Dunban and Fiora will yell at you again! We'll talk later after you sleep!"

"O-Ow!" Shulk groaned, rubbing his head in the same area Dickson punched him. "Okay, okay, I'll sleep…" The boy proceeded to leave the lab and head towards his room. It was the same routine over and over. Shulk tried to talk his way out of staying up many times, but were all shot down. It got to the point that he wouldn't even bother asking anymore.

As soon as Dickson no longer could her the boy's footsteps, Dickson proceeded to the desk and stared down at what the boy was working on. He scanned through the blueprint of the scrapdriver. It was alarmingly detailed. Lines were drawn from specific parts of the scrapdriver and next to them were neatly written notes. (Dickson felt bad seeing the boy's handwriting, as it made his own look like a kid's handwriting in comparison.) On the right of the blueprint were two separate pieces of paper that had a large list of materials, and underneath each material are smaller notes such as where to find the material, where it would be used, how it would be used, etc.

Dickson sat down on the chair and examined the list more carefully. While doing so, his lip curled upward. The more he read over the parts, the more plausible it became to make this weapon. The boy was onto something. There were some errors here and there, but they were overall feasible to make. Now it was just matter of fixing the specs and getting the materials. (Which Dickson would bring over from the Fallen Arm. He wouldn't disclose Shulk as to where he'd get them.)

Over the years, Shulk simply watched him build and fix things. But now, he's already building his own weapons. How time flies.

Dickson looked at the second paper beneath the list of materials. Revealed were some notes on the Monado. It must have been either mixed up with the scrapdriver project notes, or Shulk was working on it alongside the project. "Hah…"

He removed from his right pocket a cigarette and a lighter. After he lit the cigarette, he let out a puff and sighed.

"It sure is scary watching kids grow… That kid was always hiding behind his folks and he wouldn't say a word to me but now... "

The old man glanced at the Monado, which was kept at the center of the lab. It stood there silently, just as it was when he found it in Ose Tower 13 years ago. It was only a matter of time until his lord Zanza will return.

"Getting close to my level, huh kid? Not there yet, but you'll get there… maybe…"

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Dickson insisted to take in Shulk because he needed to keep a close eye on Zanza's new vessel. Since Shulk is the first vessel Zanza's given free will to, it would be unpredictable as to how he'd turn up.

2\. Shulk was extremely shy around Dickson at the first day he took him in. He began to warm up to him after watching Dickson work with machinery and weaponry.

3\. Shulk gets caught up with his work and hobbies far too much to the point where he can stay awake for over 24 hours. He got used to this over the years, which causes concern and annoyance to Dunban, Dickson, and Fiora.

**A/N: I hate how fast summer is rolling, cause it means my creativity will truly be shut down. Boo. I don't really have much to say about this one. It all came from personal experience though, seeing my little cousin grow so quickly, it's truly frightening. So I was like, geez, wouldn't Dickson be a bit intimidated at Shulk growing up so quickly? So this came about.**

**I've finally gotten myself a tablet, so that means actual art for this fanfiction! I have drawn lineart rough drafts for the Necklaces and Archiving Memories oneshots. The images depict "chapter" cover images, in a way. Check them in my profile. In the future, I'll be working on comic panels based on what I wrote, as well as 1 page images like in light novels. Yay. **

**The following oneshots are in development/planning stages:**

**-Sharla, Gadolt - Target Practice / Summary: She was always watching him from a distance as he always hit his target...**

**-Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - Unbreakable Bond / Summary: Based on the oneshots Rebirth and Necklaces. Reyn and Fiora were close friends. And now a shy four year old moves into Colony 9 from Colony 1. From his scared and sorrowful eyes and the pain he endured, there was only one thing the two could do: to be by his side.**

**-Dunban, Fiora - All That Remains / Summary: Based on the heart-to-heart _Revisiting the Past_. It's a big brother's duty to make sure to not make his little sister sad, even at the cost of his own safety. But the payoff lasts a lifetime: strengthening the bond of siblings that can never break.**

**-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...**

**Again till then, I appreciate any reviews and criticism.**


	10. Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - When Our Eyes Met

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

10\. Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - When Our Eyes Met

Summary: Pregame. One energetic and playful boy. One curious and helpful little girl. And one timid, fearful boy. This is how they met, with the three becoming the closest of friends, with two of them becoming lovers in the end.

Pairings: None

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"Oh oh… Who is the new kid? Dunban said he's our age!"

"We'll know soon. Just wait!"

The two four year olds were sitting at the table in Dunban's home. Reyn was wearing a sleveless orange shirt with brown shorts and Fiora was wearing a white dress that reached her knees with pink flowers at the straps of her dress. Sitting still with their heads barely reaching the dinner table, they had the chairs face each other and they sat in the same orientation, anxiously awaiting as Dunban stood near the door to the house.

Reyn and Fiora were no doubt two interesting friends. Both at the age of 4, they were constantly playing with each other various make believe games and doing all sorts of activities. It was never without the usual bickering among themselves and headaches from Dunban, but what else can 4 year olds do?

But for once, they were actually sitting still and being quiet. Reyn was having a hard time just sitting still and trying to hold back his barrage of questions. All he got were blunt answers from Dunban, saying, "You'll see. Just be patient."

Quiet knocks then silenced the two kids. Dunban opened the door and bowed slightly. Reyn and Fiora turned and squinted to see any sign of the guests Dunban told them about, but they were still standing outside and the view obstructed by the doorframe.

"Thank you for coming. Please, come inside." Dunban stepped aside and gestured to enter the house.

"I must thank you for your hospitality." A quiet, middle-aged female voice replied.

Two peopled entered the house. Reyn and Fiora stared quietly at the guests. One was a brunette female woman who appeared to be in her thirties. She had green eyes and a delicate face. She seemed a little pale, strangely. She was wearing a simple pink dress with white outlines that reached her knees. She had short, straight brown hair up to her shoulders. She took a quick look around the house and noticed Reyn and Fiora staring at her. The two children blushed and waved quietly. She smiled back and waved too.

Behind her was a middle aged man who was a few inches taller than her. He had a stern look on his face. He had blue eyes and blonde hair, with a small beard too. He was wearing a simple white shirt with black pants. He also glanced at Reyn and Fiora and nodded quietly, gesturing hello. The two kids put two and two together that the couple they saw were married adults.

The woman turned around and looked outside. She raised her hand with her palm facing her and moved her fingers towards her. "Come in. Look, there are some children your age here too."

Reyn and Fiora left their seats and proceeded towards the entrance. They stood next to Dunban, anxiously waiting to meet the kid their age.

No one was at the door.

"Please come in. There's no need to be shy."

At the left of the doorframe was a pair of small hands. And then half a face.

It was a boy with blonde hair that was a little long past his ears and had blue eyes. He was a little pale too like his mother.

"…"

"Dear…" The mother walked towards the door frame and took the boys hand. He took her hand and gently led him inside.

Reyn and Fiora now has a good look of the new boy. He was wearing a black shirt with red and blue outlines and khaki shorts. He wore black shoes and his feet were really small, even for a boy. As he held his mother's right hand with his left, he was covering the lower half of his face.

Reyn was the first to greet the new kid, waving his left hand. "Name's Reyn! Hello!"

Fiora waved her right hand and also added, "My name is Fiora! It's nice to meet you."

The mother and the father smiled at the cute introductions the four year olds presented. Even Dunban was surprised that Reyn at least was composed. Dunban couldn't help but laugh quietly at how overly polite they were. He was waiting for Reyn to go overboard. The woman bowed. "Hello, children. My name is Sherilyn. This is my husband Nathan and this is-"

"M-Mmmm…" The boy mumbled interrupting and holding onto his mother's hands tighter.

The mother sighed at her son's shyness. "I'm sorry, he's just too shy and we're still pretty shaken up from the last few days. His name is Shulk, and he's four years old, just like the two of you."

"Oh wow! You're our age! That's so cool!" Reyn was overjoyed, yet he was overreacting with his loud tone.

"Reyn! You're scaring him enough! Look at him…" Fiora growled, pinching Reyn at his arm. Shulk was now standing behind his mother and shaking. It was somewhat inaudible, but he was whimpering too. Shulk's mother sighed and turned around, kneeling down to face him directly. Shulk's father sighed too, approaching Dunban and bowing.

"I truly apologize making this awkward for the children here. If there's anything I can do…"

Dunban shook his head. "No no. It is understandable. I can't even imagine what happened to you all in Colony 1. When he's ready, Reyn and Fiora will gladly be acquainted with him." He looked at the whimpering boy, his face turning to a slight frown. _"This poor kid... he lost all of his friends..."_

"Thank you." Nathan bowed again slightly. "If you don't mind, is it possible to escort me to Xord's smithery? I'd like to take a look at his weapons for the upcoming journey."

Dunban nodded. Indeed, Xord was truly the most famous blacksmith in all of Bionis. Homs from all remaining colonies travel here to Colony 9 simply for his well crafted weapons. "Yes sir. Please follow me." Dunban and Shulk's father headed to the exit, and Dunban turned shortly to tell Reyn and Fiora, "Please keep Shulk and his mother company for now. Dickson will come soon."

"Okay!" Fiora and Reyn replied happily.

"We'll be back later for dinner." As Dunban closed the door behind him, Reyn and Fiora faced towards Shulk's mother. "Come in!" Reyn offered as he moved the seats he and Fiora were previously sitting. Fiora was amazed on how courteous Reyn became around strangers. "I-I'll get some water!" Fiora announced, moving quickly to the refrigerator.

After opening the door, he noticed the pitcher of water on her reach in front of her on the third shelf from the top of the fridge but nearly full, so she used both of her hands to carry it. She underestimated the weight and nearly dropped the pitcher. "Wo-aahh!"

"Hey, careful Fiora!" Reyn called out as he finished pulling out the chairs.

"I am!" She replied, balancing the weight of the pitcher. She turned around and slowly placed them on the kitchen counter by stepping on a stool that Dunban placed for her to stand on. "Whew…"

"Oh my, thank you both…" Sherilyn replied, astounded by the children's hospitality. She led Shulk towards the two chairs Reyn moved for them to sit. Shulk's mother sat down, but Shulk himself just stood by her side, holding her left hand close to his face.

"Shulk, you can sit down next to me."

"Mmph…" Shulk whimpered, holding onto his mother's hand more tightly and now burrowing his face near her waist. His mother used her right hand to rub his head gently, hopefully to pacify him. "Whatever am I to do with you…"

Reyn took a few steps away from Shulk and his mother, his face now showing disappointment. "Am I not nice enough…?" He muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

Fiora finished pouring the two glasses with water and took one for each hand. As soon as she stepped down from the stool, she closed the fridge door with her left foot and began to approach Shulk and his mother. "Here you go! I'll get the pitcher if you want more!" She offered one glass towards Shulk's mother.

"Thank you so much, darling…" Sherilyn accepted the glass with her right hand.

Fiora placed the other glass on the table by tiptoeing and pushed it forward so it would not fall. She then ran back to the stool to retrieve the pitcher on the counter.

"F-Fiora, lemme bring that one at least!"

"Oh, thanks, Reyn."

As Reyn approached Fiora, Sherilyn moved her left hand a bit to get her son's attention, which was still being held onto tightly. "Sweetie, please drink some water, you must be thirsty."

Her only response was mumbling and his head shaking no as he buried it closer to her waist. "Hnnn…mmph.."

Sherilyn placed the glass of water on the table and sighed. "Okay okay… later then…"

Reyn approached Shulk and his mother and placed the pitcher next to the glass she put down on the table. He cleared his throat to get her attention, also saying, "Uh… here's the water… umm… this might be a bad time to talk… then…?"

Shulk's mother faced Reyn and nodded no. "We can talk for a little bit. Although, you won't get anything from my son, sadly…"

"I-It's okay…!" Fiora replied nervously. "He must be too shy so… we can talk to you!"

"That is very kind of you, thank you both."

Reyn and Fiora moved the seats opposite to Shulk and his mother and sat down.

"Let's get you in a more comfortable position…" Sherilyn muttered to her son. She placed her right hand on the boy's right side of his waist and was able to move her left hand to his right side and lifted him up to have him sit on her lap. As soon as he sat on her lap, Shulk hugged wrapped his arms around his mother and buried his face against her chest. He was also moving a little bit to be in a comfortable position. Reyn and Fiora's faced grimaced, seeing how terribly shy Shulk was to the point where they couldn't even see his face. The only time they got a glimpse on how he really looked was when they first saw him, and now they won't be seeing his face anytime soon.

"Okay, we're settled here… so tell me, are you two in school right now?"

"Yes, we are, Mrs. Shulk's mom." Fiora replied politely as she could.

"Oh dear…" Sherilyn laughed. "You don't have to go too formal. You can call me Mrs. Sherilyn instead to make it easier on you both."

Reyn scratched his nose. "Uh, okay, Mrs… Sherilyn… We're in kindergarten right now. Listening to teachers is a drag, but I love playtime!"

Fiora elbowed Reyn at his comment. "Reyn…!" "Ow, Fiora, that hurt!"

Sherilyn giggled at Fiora and Reyn's playful banter as she stroke the hair of her son who was still clinging onto her tightly. "What about you, Fiora? What is your favorite part of school?"

"Um…" Fiora stopped glaring at Reyn and her left index finger on her chin to think. "Let's see… I like show and tell. I like collecting things around the colony such as flowers and showing it to everyone."

Reyn frowned and crossed his arms at Fiora. "Pretty dull… you find those things everyday…" He muttered.

"Did you say something else, Reyn?" Fiora growled, narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"N-No…"

Sherilyn giggled again. "Show and tell is wonderful, isn't it? And playtime too… You know Shulk likes to read books out loud to his class. He could read books with long sentences and without pictures. I think in a year, he could start reading chapter books…"

"Ooooohh…" Reyn and Fiora replied simultaneously in awe. The two children could barely read and usually need pictures to aid them. Shulk is just in a whole new level…

Fiora clapped her hands quietly. "Wow, Shulk must love to read then! Does he read a lot?"

"He sure does…" Sherilyn grinned, now very gently patting her son's head. She felt his embrace become a little less tighter. "He reads for hours a day and learns to read himself. And at the end of each day, he would read to me and his father out loud to see if he learned anything. And goodness, by the day he gets better and better…"

Reyn asked, "So, he's really smart then! He's at the top of his class I bet?"

"Indeed…" Sherilyn muttered, but her response wasn't too happy. It was actually melancholic. Fiora and Reyn were concerned and the two asked at the same time, "Are you okay, Mrs. Sherilyn?"

"Oh, it's nothing… I appreciate your concern you two…"

Sherilyn looked down to see her son no longer moving around, only feeling his steady breaths. As she peeked down to see his face, they were closed but not tightly. He was fast asleep. She was always astounded on how quickly her boy can sleep.

"Shulk is asleep… it looks like we have to talk more quietly now…"

"Ohhhh… okay…" Reyn replied, trying to lower his tone. Fiora faced him and placed an index finger near her lips. "Shhh, Reyn! Lower your voice."

"Hey, you know I'm trying…!"

"You're terrible at whispering!"

Shulk's mother laughed lightly at Reyn and Fiora's bickering. "Dunban is blessed to be taking care of such lively children…" She said to herself. She looked down again and brushed aside her son's hair to see his face more clearly. Still asleep… Placing her left hand at the side of his face, she smiled.

_"Shulk... these two will be special to you... I'm sorry that you have lost all of your previous friends but... these two will be waiting for you when you're ready."_

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Reyn was a very loud, energetic, and confident four year old who caused Dunban lots of trouble for his antics. His favorite time of the day was playtime and the three main mealtimes.

2\. Fiora was calm and gentle, always trying to prevent Reyn from getting into predicaments and drags her brother around to do little activities such as flower picking and crafting. She loves show and tell in school.

3\. Shulk was a shy four year old who initially didn't want to befriend Reyn and Fiora and always clung to his parents. He learned how to read at a very early age of 3 and began to read chapter books early too to the point where his vocabulary got too extensive. He lost all of his friends in Colony 1, hence he is afraid of making new friends, worried that he'll lose them too.

**A/N: I am totally burned out with my writing, geez. A busy summer got to me pretty damn hard that my writing skills severely suffered as well as my creativity. And with doom and gloom from school looming in the corner...**

**An interesting note is that I found an online post about beta designs on characters and one of them was... Shulk's mother. That's right, even though her appearance was not shown directly to the player, there are official sketches on what she looks like and yup, Shulk appearancewise takes after his father. And I can assume his physique from his mother. (I'll look for the image and post it here once I find it again.) Another thing as to why Shulk is such a shy little boy? Hm, I could extend the headcanon and it may be a possible oneshot in the future. Another thing is that this takes place days before the oneshot Rebirth. If you haven't read it, you can take a look.  
**

**I'm at a huge writer's block in all of my current oneshot developments that I would need a break and sometime to think about how to write them, cause I'm really not satisfied on how this one turned out to be. Cause of this, it'll take much longer to publish the next oneshot unfortunately. In the meantime, I'll try to finish out some of the art for this oneshot collection and hopefully get some artistic ideas.**

**Another way of getting ideas is writing 2-3 new fanfictions that is similar to this one, but it'll be for a different series. And that series is Tales of Xillia. ARGHH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE SERIES EVERRR. Hopefully I can get some creative ideas for this fanfiction as I write the other. You can read the descriptions of the fanfictions in my profile. And woah, a fanfiction devoted on costumes? Wut.**

**Anyways, I appreciate the reviews and criticism. **


	11. Zanza, Meyneth - Falling Away

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

11\. Zanza, Meyneth - Falling Away  


Summary: Pregame. Zanza and Meyneth before they achieved divinity in fact, had a sort of a bond. A bond that is all too familiar. A bond so different at the same time…

Pairings: Zanza x Meyneth (minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

He rubbed his eyes as he stared at the wall of text on the book he was reading. He had been skimming the book the past hour under the dim light of his desk and the bedroom lights off. He sat on the chair slumped down slightly with his legs and feet up on the silver desk in front of him. It was around 11PM, Eastern Time in the United States. Well, that was the time the space station orbiting the Earth used for biological time. In real time though, the days went by much shorter.

"Zanza, you know you need to read with more lights around you. You'll lose your perfect vision if you keep this up…"

"Mmm, whatever, Elena… And don't call me that. We're not kids anymore. " Klaus replied, loosening his blue necktie that was hanging on his neck. Since the workday was over, he might as well look less sophisticated. Strangely, his lab coat was still on.

Klaus was one brilliant young man. Age 27, he graduated college from Oxford University as valedictorian at the age of 18 and went to grad school in Harvard in the United States, completing it at 24 to gain his PHD. Not only was he intelligent, but had a great physique too, being able to do all sorts of athletic activities, sports, and other physically demanding hobbies. From mountain climbing to spelunking to diving to basic knowledge of piloting an airplane, he knew how to and did do them all at least once. He knows how to play some instruments, but mostly excelled in the violin. He was also adept in speaking in multiple languages fluently, them being English, Spanish, German, Japanese, and French. How much more perfect can this guy be?

Elena flipped the switch on that was to her right. Klaus groaned as the intense light of the bedroom suddenly went on and he shielded his eyes with his free left hand. "Elena… come on…" With heels clicking across the floor, Elena walked towards Klaus by first placing a white plastic container on the desk that had a folded napkin on top. "And I'll stop calling you that if you call me Meyneth like you used to."

"I refuse."

"Then too bad, I'll always call you Zanza then except when we're at work."

"…"

Elena was also one brilliant young woman also. She may not be such an overachiever like Klaus, but she was someone to awe at. Like Klaus, she graduated from Oxford University but at the age of 20 as opposed to Klaus, but still also valedictorian. She also followed him to Harvard as well, earning her PHD. As opposed to Klaus, she loved to create and program things, so she is always working around computers or found with building tools. But like Klaus, she was also quite athletic, and the two were quite competitive in sports when they were young. Like Klaus, she was skilled in music with her singing voice but surprisingly, she only knew how to play the electric guitar. But what many people didn't know except for their young childhood friends were that they were gamers. Despite their busy schedule, they always made time to play MMO games online when they were apart and role playing games offline if they were visiting each other. Klaus grew out of this hobby, but Elena was still an avid gamer to this day.

Elena moved her head slightly to see what Klaus was reading. She groaned. Why did she bother, as she knew what the book he was reading was?

"Aldous Huxley's _Brave New World_ again? We read this already in high school… And then you read it a few more times after during college and after…" She furrowed her eyebrows as she asked and sighed.

Klaus closed the novel but placed his right index finger on the page he was on, leaving it partially open and moved the edge of the book at his forehead. He faced Elena and asked, "You don't find it interesting?"

"I find it a little interesting and baffling that you'd read this again and again for about ten years since you first read it… I lost count as to how many times you read it, let alone finding you with that book in hand. Those group… how should I say this… "sessions"… Is that what makes it interesting for you?" Elena approached Klaus' bed and sat at the edge, crossing her legs. Klaus noticed the side of her red dress showed a few centimeters more of her legs compared to herself standing and he looked away, frowning. She wasn't wearing her lab coat either, which wasn't helping.

"N-No!" Klaus angrily replied, flustered and turning a shade of red. He removed his index finger holding onto the page he was on and groaned. "You know that's not true!"

Elena giggled, touching the side of her face with her left index finger. "Geez, Klaus… You know I'm kidding. Can't take a joke?"

Klaus' face returned to a normal shade and sighed. He placed the novel onto his desk and rubbed his head, groaning. "I-I think I'm a bit worked up from the past few days. We're so close to the Neo Genesis Project. I myself haven't been sleeping much so-"

Klaus didn't even notice Elena as she placed an index finger at his mouth to silence him. His eyes widened on how close she was to his face. He was now frowning again though, she was far too close. He didn't mind that gesture back in the day when they were in college. But now, it got too irritating for him…

"You really do need to relax. Yourself and have the rest of us take it easy too. Our progress isn't going anywhere but forward."

A soft rumble was heard. Klaus and Elena heard the source of the noise was… below. Elena had dinner earlier, which means…

Elena narrowed her eyes and frowned, removing her index finger that was touching Klaus' lips. "Look at you, you even forget to eat… Well thankfully, I brought you food. It's on your desk. Eat it."

Klaus scratched his head and sighed. "And you save me again…"

Elena stood up. The young man turned his seat around facing away from Elena and towards his desk. In front of him was the _Brave New World_ novel and to the left was a white container with a transparent lid, fogged from the condensation. _"Acting like my mother again… Sheesh…"_ He muttered in his head. Moving aside the napkin that had a spoon and fork wrapped around it, he opened the lid. Klaus saw the contents of the container. A few sausages, broccoli, and white rice. _"Right, it's Wednesday, so dinner is crap around this time of week…"_

Elena chuckled as he saw Klaus stare at dismay at the food before him. She had the same face hours earlier. As Klaus unwrapped the napkin to retrieve the spoon and fork, Elena took the novel he was reading and turned to a random page in the middle. From page 50, she was skimming through the words and turning each page. A few pages later, she saw the infamous paragraph that the entire class couldn't take seriously back when she and Klaus were in high school. The "mating ritual sessions" as she would try to reword what it really was in a less blunt and more "sophisticated" way to refer to it. Klaus always teased her about being a goodie two shoes for simply not calling it an orgy, to her annoyance. She sighed and continued to flip through the book at a faster pace.

"I can't believe that this book is the very book that made you go all in for the Neo Genesis Project… You were at first a bit hesitant but…"

Klaus, after taking bites from the tasteless sausage faced Elena and nodded. "And?" He asked, swallowing.

"To each of their own…" Elena replied, closing the book and placing it back on the desk next to Klaus.

Elena sat on the edge of Klaus' bed again and tucked her arms around her waist. Looking down at her black heels, she quietly asks, "I… have to tell you something."

She didn't get an immediate reply as Klaus was wiping his mouth with the napkin Elena gave her. His food was barely touched, with only 3/4ths of one of the three sausages, a third of the rice, and 1 stalk of broccoli eaten. As soon as he finished, he asks, "What?"

"Ever since a few months ago after we worked on the Neo Genesis Project for about a week, you've… been acting weird lately."

"Hm? I'll need you to elaborate on what you mean by that…" Klaus replied, setting the napkin back on the table.

Elena looked up to Klaus, looking slightly worried and distressed.

"You've been holed up in your room and we haven't been talking like we used to… What happened to the old days when we used to tell each other everything? When we used to play that MMO and stuff? We always talked about… anything you know? We used to play together, casually talk, meet others… even go on trips but now…"

Klaus stared at Elena, his eyebrows slightly raised in concern, then furrowed down. He shook his head, placing his right hand on his forehead. "Really? That's what's bothering you?"

Elena was frowning now, her hands now making fists as she moved her hands to her lap. "It's also bothering me on how you don't seem to care about this!"

As soon as Elena retorted him, Klaus slid his hands to cover his mouth and groaned. "I… I didn't mean it that way…"

"Then what way?" Elena asks, her tone lower and more angry. The room suddenly felt stifling as their simple conversation was turning into an argument. Elena was turning more red by the second. Klaus could feel the side of his left eye twitching.

Klaus sighed and lowered his right hand to the armrest of his chair. "What I meant was… you should know that we can't exactly talk casually as much as we could anymore cause of our work… And come on, we need to be professional here. I don't want people looking at us and get the wrong idea."

"That doesn't mean we don't make the effort to make some time to do so when we can here and there… And wrong idea? We're close friends, and everyone seems to think that. What's also bothering me is that you've been acting weird to everyone else too!"

"I-I just… nnghh… never mind…" Klaus groaned and rotated his chair to face away from Elena and back to his desk. He stared down at his barely finished dinner, no longer feeling an appetite to finish cause of the abysmal taste. But he wasn't feeling relief from his hunger either. Trying to keep his mind off of it, he proceeded to take Aldous Huxley's work on his hand and turn to page 34, where he last stopped reading.

Elena used her palm to lightly hit Klaus' bed and sighed, also using her left hand to rub her forehead. _"Now Klaus doesn't want to talk to me much anymore… am I that annoying or… is it him?"_ She asked herself as her lips curled downward, her eyebrows lowering also. Standing up, she proceeded to quickly leave Klaus' room. At the exit, she stopped and quietly said out loud, "I'll… see you tomorrow then…"

"Right…" Zanza replied, not even leaving his eyes from the page let alone facing Elena to say good night.

Astonished by his indiscretion, Elena left the room and pressed the button to the wall on her left, closing the sliding door. She walked down that hallway, with the sound of her heels echoing around her. Ever so faintly though, she swallowed that lump on the throat that built up just only a few minutes ago, and wiped her watery eyes with her wrist.

Klaus stared at the wall of text before him that he read so many times that he lost count. This perfect world in Huxley's work of fiction… Intentions of that perfect world were good, and yes, people were happy in that world. But that world is only in text. And it had social and moral controversies... But... this Neo Genesis Program...

_"This universe is hell… mankind is doomed in this universe. Natural resources nearly gone and we can't find new ones… We're destined to kill ourselves but… a new world… I can make it happen: a perfect new world where everyone is happy with no flaws."_

Zanza gripped onto the novel tightly and his lips slightly arched upward.

"With me in the center of it all…"

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Klaus and Meyneth were childhood friends and grew up together, spending most of their time with each other. They eventually joined the project to create a new world for their own reasons after college. Both of them initially wanted to create a new world because the current world is in ruin, but only Klaus grew obsessed with the project to become a god and control the new universe. He made a goal of creating a perfect society with him sitting above it all. This obsession caused him to grow distant to Meyneth and all people in the project making the new world.

2\. Klaus and Meyneth when they were young were gamers until the age of 12 for Zanza but Meyneth was still a gamer even to adulthood. The names Zanza and Meyneth were names to their MMO avatars, and would refer to them by these names casually as nicknames. After some time, Klaus hated being called by his avatar name because he no longer wanted to be associated with games as they were a "waste of time". Meyneth was fine with her real or avatar name, but only allows Klaus to call her Meyneth.

3\. Klaus knew how to play the violin and Meyneth knew how to play the electric guitar. Hence, the respective battle themes on the Bionis _Time to Fight _mainly featured a violin solo and the Mechonis battle theme _Mechanical Rhythm_ had a main electric guitar solo.

**A/N: By far the most difficult to write because of the veryyyy little information given about Zanza and Meyneth before they reached godhood. It was hard for me to write this for many reasons, so this is a throwaway oneshot. But the concept I like though... Execution is meh. **

**This idea came about with permission from saber-chan from tumblr whom I give credit to. As for Meyneth's original name... yeah that was random. Oops. She looked like an "Elena" to me. As for Aldous Huxley's _Brave New World_... that book was really weird for me to read back in high school. But that world dystopia thing got me thinking and went... what if Zanza had that twisted idea to create a world from something like that? Then bam... this came about.  
**

**And yes I totally think Zanza and Meyneth were gaming people when they were young teens. Hahahahaha...**

**School has started so there will be a huge gap for the release of the next oneshot, so sorry about that. In the meantime, hopefully I can get better ideas and writing ability. **

**Though, it reminds me that I've remembered about my CSI/Criminal Minds x Xenoblade mashup and guess what... that concept exists in the movie that I totally forgot about and was awesome: Minority Report. And surprise, it's an upcoming TV series that's airing later this month! I've been doing little fanart of Minority Report and Xenoblade crossover. It MAYYY be a new fanfiction... be on a lookout. In the meantime, you can check my art on the concept in my profile.**

**Additionally another fanfiction idea is looming in my head: a retelling of Xenoblade if Shulk and Fiora switched roles. Yup, that means Fiora is the Heir to the Monado and an evil Meyneth and good Zanza. Woahh... How would things fare?**

**Until then, I appreciate any reviews and criticism.**


	12. Entire Party - Dress Up

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

12\. Entire Party - Dress Up  


Summary: The party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have a late private ceremony for Melia's succession to the throne, as well as a formal gratitude for the party in stopping the Mechon invasion in the Alcamoth. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members... (Takes place after events of Prison Island - First Visit, before events of Valak Mountain)

Pairings: Shulk x Melia (Minor), Reyn x Sharla (Minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Dunban would never understand Reyn's grumbles and complaints. He stood leaning against the wall of the guest room they were given back during their first visit in the Alcamoth with a look of irritation on his face. He simply wanted to draw his katana and cut Reyn's mouth off, but he withheld himself.

Reyn asked, "How on earth do these High Entia dress up? They like… walk around dressed in armor in their daily life!" He was holding onto his head armor and examining it as he rotated the crown-like helmet. It was mainly silver, but had tints of green to it. Reyn wore a variant of the High Entia armor. Some gems that were a peridot-emerald like color was embedded default color the High Entia wore was a sapphire or aquamarine blue, but Reyn wanted to stand out and wear green instead. Reyn's shoulders and chest were the most covered part of the body. The wing motif, which was present in all High Entia clothes, was on Reyn's waist with three green semitransparent wings facing down.

"It's their custom, Reyn. Get used to it. Besides, you wear the heaviest armor out of all of us throughout our journey." Dunban replied, placing his left hand on his waist. "How could you be complaining about the High Entia armor, which is much lighter than the usual armor you wear, like the Empress armor?"

"I dunno, it feels weird! At least the Empress armor had some cushioning inside, as opposed to this!"

Dunban rolled his eyes, then he examined himself in the mirror next to him. He wore a crown-like head armor as well, but it had no gems embedded on it. It was made of silver, with each side of his head having a falcon-like design. His upper body was unevenly covered with metal plating, with more emphasis on his right chest. It had a star-like design wrapped around with a blue gem embedded in the center of it. His left arm is the least protected part of his body, with only a black shirt with sleeves reaching up to his tricep. His left arm was opposite, as it was heavily guarded with metal. It is also the most striking part of his armor, as the wing motif was emphasized on it. His left shoulder had a metal outline that had the transparent blue wing coming out of it. Dunban's lower body was covered similarly like how normal High Entia attire was for men, but with more metal plating around his right foot.

Reyn and Dunban turned around as they heard a pair of footsteps from the entrance. It was Shulk, who recently changed out of his usual clothes and into the High Entia armor. Out of the three boys, Shulk had the most simplest design, which looked similar to an old Homs armor (which is no longer made). Additionally, he wore the lightest armor of the three, considering his more fragile body compared to stoic Dunban and Reyn. Like Reyn, most of the plating was on his shoulders and around his neck. A blue gem was embedded on the black shirt he wore, and some metal plating beneath the gem itself. The wing motif was on his head, with three blue semitransparent wings coming out from both sides. The head armor had minimal metal coating like Dunban's head armor to the point where most of his hair was visible. His legs didn't have much metal plating, and the only heavy portion on the lower body was the metallic boots he wore.

Reyn approached Shulk and slapped him on the back. A sound of metal being banged against an object echoed throughout the room. Shulk yelped, "O-Ow! What was that for?"

"Looking good in whatever you wear, you bum!" Reyn answered, hitting him in the back again and wrapping his left arm around the boy's neck. He had difficulty doing so because the damn armor was hard to move in the joints. "Come on, you gotta agree with me! This armor stinks!"

"Er… I'm indifferent about it…" Shulk lifted Reyn's arm away from him and approached Dunban to stand next to the mirror on the wall to look at his own reflection. He started to pivot around a little to get a better look of the High Entia armor. "The armor is a little stuffy and whatnot but… I really like the design. I could only imagine how much time and effort it was to have all of our armor uniquely designed and assembled."

"They must have been doing this for years, coulda gotten some criticism about those cushioning…" Reyn muttered.

Shulk crossed his arms, though it took a little longer than usual to do so as the gauntlet armor was a bit heavy. "This armor wasn't exactly tailored for us as they didn't get our measurements… all they did was simply observe our normal attire and physiques and then gave us what they had since time is scarce for Melia's succession party."

Reyn groaned. No wonder the High Entia were quick on giving them proper clothes when they didn't even measure them. _"I'ma have to give them a piece of my mind next time… Let alone get them something called measuring tape!"_

The sound of the door was sudden and a loud voice was heard. It was the one that Reyn didn't want to hear now. "Riki is back! Riki dress in bird people clothes! Riki like bird people clothes but too heavy!"

Reyn was chuckling as Riki walked toward him because he looked silly waddling in a much slower pace. Shulk covered his mouth as he chuckled while Dunban shook his head. The little Nopon was grunting as quietly as possible too as he walked. Seems he didn't get used to it yet. Riki's armor was unique as it literally had metal plating all over him including his ears, though it seemed to be the same type as what Shulk wore considering a Nopon's build. Like Reyn, Riki opted for the mythril green variant of the High Entia color scheme as it reminded him of Makna's colors, which was shown by the large gem on his head crown and the small gem embedded on his chest.

"Maybe the armor suits you, furball! Now you can't jump on my head now!" Reyn teased, placing his hands on his hips and leaning down to get some eye contact with the Nopon. In doing so, he felt pain in his abdominal area due to the armor not moving in correlation with his body. "Darn, I forgot about that!" He muttered to himself.

"Riki angry with Reyn! Reyn will regret making fun of Riki in bird people armor!" Riki jumped, his weight pulling him down and not allowing him to jump as high as usual. He only reached to about Reyn's waist, which is more than half of the usual height he jumps. Each attempt to jump hastened Riki's exhaustion.

"Riki... very angry...! But very... tired...! Riki must not look tired for Melly!"

"Gotta learn when to quit, furball..."

"Ahem, may I come in?" A familiar voice interrupted.

"Of course!" Dunban replied, finally relieved of Riki and Reyn's bickering.

It was Sharla who entered the guest room this time, now getting the stares and gaping faces of the men in the room. Riki jumped in excitement despite his exhaustion, happily saying, "Sharla look very sexy! Not as sexy as Melly but sexy!"

Sharla frowned at the Heropon, growling, "Hey, you! You didn't even see Melia cause she's holed up in her room attended with the royal guard and her servants!"

Female High Entia armor is quite exquisite and sophisticated too, making females look very powerful but shows off the attractive feminine features of the female body. Sharla opted to use the agrius armor set to stand out because of her gender as well as purple, in her opinion, looked fantastic in the High Entia armor. (She was also pretty sure that none of the males of the party would opt for the purple/pink color scheme anyway.) Sharla had the bulkiest head armor taking the shape of High Entia wings facing forward and upwards. A purplish gem was embedded in the center of the headarmor to match with the rest of the color scheme of the High Entia armor she wore, it being the pink/purple variant of the High Entia armor. Her arms were covered with metal plating and a second layer of metal around her biceps. The wing motif variant was on this second layer of metal, with pink wings pointing downward. Her chest wasn't covered with metal as she was wearing a magenta shirt. Her breasts were large in comparison (which Reyn and Shulk tried their best not to look at, but hormones took over), and some of her cleavage was shown. Her legs were plated with metal and she wore purple leggings with heavy boots.

Sharla's frown grew as she noticed Reyn's smile getting wider and wider in the obvious place he'd stare at. "How much more immature can he get..." She groaned in her head. She noticed Shulk trying to look up at the ceiling in an attempt to be modest. Well, at least he was trying, but it didn't help much when he was staring with wide eyes at her chest as bad as Reyn.

Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about Dunban thanks to his age and maturity. His eyes closed and arms crossed, he was nodding in approval after his quick glance at her. "Very beautiful, Sharla. I expect no less of you."

Sharla grinned, bowing her head slightly. "I thank you, unlike these two boneheads."

"What did I do?!" Shulk asked, surprised. "I'm not ogling like Reyn here!"

"Hey, can it, Shulk!"

The sound of the door being opened was heard and the party turned to face the High Entia guard who walked in, bowing. "Excuse me. It is time to head to the audience chamber. Please watch your step with the armor."

"Oooh boy..." Reyn groaned. "This is going to be fun..."

—

"Never mind, this is not fun..."

The party was literally sweating and feeling uneasy as they waited near the entrance to the audience hall for about ten minutes. Rows of High Entia guards, high ranking officials, and members of their counsel were lined up vertically and were facing each other, split in the middle by the grand staircase. In addition to them being foreigners, their cursed armor was weighing them down and fatiguing them.

"The ceremony is only about ten minutes in and I'm dying...!" Reyn complained, whispering as quietly as he could. It wasn't so much as whispering though, as the two High Entia guards standing before them heard him loud and clear. They didn't move, let alone make a single facial expression or word from the comment.

Sharla was sick of Reyn's complaints, and she elbowed him on the stomach, where most of his pain was. "Ow!"

"Stop your complaining! If you go time to do that, you got time to put up with the discomfort!"

Dunban clenched his right fist harder, resisting further his urge to punch Reyn in the face. He wasn't comfortable either, but this was hardly the time to be complaining and loud.

Shulk was staring down at the ground and his eyes closed, trying to listen in on the members of the High council's announcement and cue for them to walk in. They were added last minute to the ceremony as they stopped the invasion of the Mechon and protected Melia and the Emperor as much as they could, despite being outsiders. Unfortunately, their voices weren't as loud from the entrance to the audience chamber, so he could barely make out words.

"Riki wonders where Melly is?" The Heropon asks, waddling around looking for the High Entia empress. "Riki wants to see Melly in pretty armor!"

"Just give it time, Riki..." Shulk replied quietly. "We'll all see her soon..."

"...present to you the heroes of our people and saviors to our new empress!" Alvis proclaimed, his voice finally audible to everyone at the base of the audience chamber.

The High Entia guards standing at the sides of the entrance quietly said to the party, "Please proceed at a steady pace towards before Lord Kallian and the Seer."

"Understood." Dunban replied on the behalf of the party. Shulk took point and proceeded to up the stairs, followed by everyone else.

All eyes were now focused on the Homs and Nopon party of five. They all had stern and serious faces on them, which made Riki and Reyn feel a chill up their spines. Even after a few steps, everyone was feeling the weight of their armor pulling them down, especially for Riki. Riki had to jump a little to reach the next step. Dunban stared up ahead to see Alvis and Kallian standing before them, and at the corner of the stage, Lorithia, one of the High Counsel members of the High Entia. For some reason, she was smiling despite literally every other person in the room had a stern face, even moreso that she had her eyes on Shulk. Dunban couldn't help but think something was a little off about her. He then stared ahead to avoid eye contact with her. About five steps beneath the stage of the audience chamber, the party stopped, forming a triangle formation, with Shulk at the top of the formation, followed by Sharla and Dunban at the middle and Reyn and Riki at the back.

Alvis stepped down from the stage and approached Shulk. While doing so, he said aloud, "This group of five, four Homs and one Nopon, are forever welcome in the Imperial Capital. All High Entia shall welcome you with open arms."

"Better be, after our "warm welcome" back when we came here..." Reyn muttered under his breath. Sharla gave a quick glare.

Kallian took over the formalities, saying out loud, "And behold, in our midst is the Heir to the Monado! The holy blade of the Bionis is among us! He will bring about a new age on Bionis and end the conquest of the Mechonis!"

"May the light of the blade guide us all!" All of the High Entia in the room replied to the call.

"Indeed... and smite them all..." Lorithia whispered in a low tone quietly.

"And now, behold, our new Empress of the High Entia. Melia Antiqua!" Alvis announced loudly as his voice echoed across the audience chamber. Shulk and the party all turned around and saw their ally in all of her glory.

Melia was wearing similar armor to them, but it was the most elegantly designed. The agrius variant of the High Entia armor, it had a link pink color scheme that blended perfectly with the silver armor. Her head armor was intricately detailed with silver wing designs in the front and highlighted her own wings that were on the side of her head as the trademark of the High Entia. A pink gem was at the center of her head armor. The wing motif was pink also, manifesting on her shoulders and at the back of the agrius boots she wore. Like Sharla, the metal plating was light around her chest but slightly heavier on the side of her body. Unlike Sharla, she was wearing a pink skirt with short leggings.

The party was awed at how magnificent Melia looked. She already looked sophisticated and beautiful with her normal clothes, but this was a whole new level. Even Riki, usually the loudest of the party, was only "awing" quietly. And Reyn was silenced by simply nodding his head. A new feat of shutting up for him, as Dunban and Sharla would dub it. Shulk was mesmerized by Melia's appearance, that he was even blushing a bit.

Melia stared at her own party members and the rest of the High Entia counsel with a serious facial expression. Not wavering and steadfast, she proceeded to march forward, heading up the stairs towards the chamber where Alvis, Lorithia, and her party awaits. As soon as she stepped forward, the rows of High Entia guards and counsel members that stood on each side of the stairs knelt down before her. Shulk and the party took note of their actions and split themselves into two groups, with Reyn, Sharla, and Riki moving to the left side of the audience chamber next to the row of guards standing next to them and Dunban and Shulk to the right. They all proceeded to kneel down with their right knee and their left leg on the ground also and take point with the High Entia, except Riki, as he didn't need to bow because of his small stature.

Now more than ever, this wasn't going to be very comfortable. Reyn complained earlier about the abdominal area of the mythril armor stabbing him, and it was stabbing him even further as he got to a kneeling position. Additionally, it felt like the armor was crushing him from the inside with his weight on his right leg. He groaned in pain as quietly as possible, but Sharla and the few High Entia guards behind him heard him. "Reyn, shut up!" Sharla whispered angrily.

"I can't help it...!" Reyn replied, sweating more bullets. "Hey, you're not comfortable either!"

"At least I'm keeping quiet about it, idiot!" Sharla had to admit that she was uncomfortable too. The agrius boots were actually the discomforting part of the armor she wore. The joints of the boots were not very flexible, so it was stabbing her legs just as how Reyn's torso armor was stabbing him. "Tch..." she muttered, trying to silence herself.

"Haha... Reyn look silly in bird people armor kneeling!" Riki teased as he whispered.

"Shut it, furball...!"

Dunban could see the shenanigans Reyn was doing across from him and he shook his head. He WILL scold the boy later after the ceremony was over. He'd also have to talk to Riki, knowing that the Heropon knows to behave better, especially in front of Melia. Shulk couldn't help but sigh under his breath too. He noticed Reyn and Sharla's discomfort, and he himself was not comfortable as well. Just like Reyn, the abdominal area of his armor was closing in on him as he knelt down and his body was leaning forward. (It didn't help that he was also mounting the Monado on his back too. He was the only one of the party armed.) Of all the times to be looking and acting silly, it had to be at an ally's royal ceremony?

Melia was walking slowly as she ascended up towards the audience chamber. Each step took her about one second each, and it was feeling like eternity with Reyn and the others as they were hitting their limits in their comfort. She was only about ten steps up, and it would take another 70ish steps to ascend to reach where she needed to be. Reyn was sweating more and more as he grew hot in discomfort and pain. "Oooh..." he groaned with each passing second. Luckily and strangely, Alvis, Kallian, and Lorithia didn't even hear or notice the ridiculousness of the party as their focus was on Melia. Dunban reached the point where he couldn't stand looking at Reyn. He shifted his eyes away from Reyn, Sharla, and Riki and faced to his left to watch Melia ascend.

Shulk was glaring at Reyn, who in turn frowning in confusion. Reyn mouthed, "I... can't... help... it...!" Shulk didn't even need to mouth back. He pointed at Reyn with his right index finger then made a quick slicing gesture of his own neck with his same hand, fingers together and palm flat. Reyn swallowed hard. _"Great... now Shulk is going to kill me too..."_

Lorithia, standing at the corner of the stage of the audience chamber near two guards, was chuckling quietly as she examined the outsiders. The ones on the right side from where she was facing was of no concern to her, but to the left... The hero of Sword Valley and the Heir to the Monado. She heard of the Hero of Sword Valley's exploits from Dickson. And the Heir to the Monado. She laughed in her head more from the irony at the fact that he closely resembled appearancewise her lord. _"This will be interesting..."_

Alvis caught a glimpse of Lorithia staring intently and smiling at Shulk. He closed his eyes and sighed and resumed to watch Melia approach them.

After what felt an eternity for Reyn, Melia was approaching her allies. She looked to her left seeing Reyn, Sharla, and Riki moving so much as they knelt down, and then to her right where she saw Dunban and Shulk staring at her. Riki was grinning widely with Reyn grinning as much as he could despite his discomfort. Sharla was smiling and made a quick thumbs up gesture. Dunban nodded at her as soon as they made eye contact and Shulk smiled. Melia could feel her cheeks grow hot, but she tried to suppress her facial expression. She then shifted her eyes away from Shulk and faced forward to see her brother and Alvis.

Melia was now in front of the stage and she stopped her advance. She knelt down before her brother and Alvis and faced down, eyes closed.

About thirty members of the High Entia counsel standing at the back of the stage began to walk forward towards the front of the stage where Alvis and Kallian stood. Each raised their rapiers and up high and then towards their chest, each proclaiming one by one. "I, Rynod, agree to stand by our Empress' side!" "I, Amalia, agree to stand by our Empress side!" Each member said the same declaration with their own names.

As each member said their declaration, Reyn was reaching his limit as he continued to kneel down as his own weight was crushing his legs, the torso armor was stabbing him, and he was losing his sense of balance. _"No no no no, not now...!"_ He screamed in his mind.

"Reyn, you-!" Sharla angrily whispered.

"...agree to stand by our Empress side-!"

"O-ow...!"

And a loud thud echoed throughout the audience chamber. Reyn was lying on his right side after the intense physical fatigue and pain he endured for the past five minutes caught up to him. Fortunately, no one was directly kneeling to his right, but it did made the High Entia standing behind him lose his footing and had him kneeling on all fours. A long, awkward, forboding silence filled the air. Reyn glanced around to see the High Entia staring either blankly or surprised at him. Lorithia, Alvis, Melia, and Kallian were smiling strangely. And the rest of the party? Death glares.

"Oh... dear... Uh..." Reyn cleared his throat and went back to his kneeling position. The adrenaline now rushing forth to keep his aching legs up. "Uh... keep going... please..."

Kallian laughed lightly. "It seems our ceremony has taken a lot longer time than it should... Very well then, Alvis?"

Alvis chuckled. He raised his right hand and placed it on his chest, and all eyes faced him. He proclaimed loudly, "With the power invested in me, Seer of the High Entia and with the blessing of the Bionis, proclaim Melia Antiqua, daughter of the late Sorean Antiqua and the late second consort to be the new Empress of the High Entia! With her wisdom and knowledge, may we all live in peace and prosper among ourselves with all races of the Bionis!"

—

"I. CANNOT. BELIEVE. YOU!"

"Ow ow ow ow!" Reyn cried.

"Oh, Sharla, don't be so harsh on him..." Melia asked, laughing lightly at the scene they were making. Reyn got a thirty minute lecture from Dunban, a hit in the head from Shulk, and tackles from Riki earlier, but now he had to deal with the worst punishment: ear pulling from Sharla.

Shulk sighed, bowing at Melia. "I'm so sorry, Melia... How embarrassing this must be for you..."

"No no... it was quite entertaining..." Melia replied, waving her hand in dismissal. "You even gave the Seer and my brother a good laugh. I haven't seen them both smile in a while anyway."

Dunban and surprisingly Riki were lost for words on what to yell at to Reyn. With glasses of wine on hand (and ear for Riki), they simply talked about anything to keep their minds away from the embarrassment of thirty minutes ago.

The entire party, Kallian, Alvis, and some of the High Entia members of the counsel were gathered in the guest chamber, refreshing themselves with food and wine.

Kallian and Alvis approached the party and they bowed slightly towards the party. Alvis formally apologized in a stern tone, saying, "We apologize for tonight's ceremony… We haven't tailored any armor for Homs in the past 70 years, and this is all we had on short notice.

Dunban nodded no. "It's not yours or your tailors' fault. You tried your best, and the thought counts. I might have been harsh last time concerning about your customs concerning the High Entia trial, but at least with this we can get by with."

Kallian replied, "I see but... It is our fault. I should have noticed that you all were not comfortable in the armor and made an exception for all of you to opt out of wearing them before the ceremony."

Sharla shook her head. "This is a special ceremony for the High Entia, and especially for your sister. And out of respect of your people and your father, the least we can do is make ourselves presentable."

"But still..." The two High Entia siblings tried to explain simultaneously, but were cut off by Shulk.

"No. It's the least we can do... and besides, I personally find the armor for all of us to be truly magnificent. It looks wonderful and sophisticated on all of us. Especially you."

"Ah..." Melia gasped and turned a light shade of pink. "I-Is that so...?" _"I actually chose these designs for them..."_ Melia said to herself. _"Shulk likes them...?_

Kallian had an idea. He asks, "If you truly like such designs, I will have each of these armor personally customized for each of you. Not only are they ceremonial armor, but they have great protection against monster and Mechon attacks as well. They are also well insulated, as it will be useful for your journey in Valak Mountain. At the end of the day, we'll have tailors visit each of you to get your measurements and have them ready by dawn. It is the least we can do. Is this okay?"

"O-Of course!" Shulk responded immediately. "I'd love to wear this armor for the upcoming journey."

"Hey, taking a liking to this shiny and complicated stuff huh? Matches your geeky head of yours." Reyn teased, elbowing Shulk.

"S-Shut it..."

"I'm glad you like them." Kallian bowed. "I must excuse myself now. Please, enjoy the rest of the evening." As Kallian excused himself, Alvis placed a hand on Shulk's shoulder.

"What... interesting allies you have among you, Shulk." Alvis commented, laughing lightly afterwards.. Shulk had to appreciate that Alvis was at least considerate on how he described his friends.

"Yes umm... I humbly apologize for the embarrassment. It was uncalled for..."

"No need. What's done is done."

"But..."

Avis stopped Shulk. "Please enjoy the rest of the evening with your allies. You have a long journey ahead of you still. And I can sense a new flicker of hope within you that burns ever so brightly."

"Indeed..." Shulk remembered vividly. Fiora... It's not even about revenge now. It's about her safety and the search for answers. She was alive and well. But in a Face unit? And her body was... "Thanks... Alvis."

"Good evening to you all..." Alvis bowed and dismissed himself.

The Heir to the Monado sighed. "What a long day..."

"You'll probably need this, Shulk. Here, take a sip." Dunban offered a glass of wine with his left hand. Sharla halted Dunban's offer, taking the wine herself. "Excuse me, Dunban! No alcohol for minors!"

"Sharla..." Shulk muttered.

"Sharla, we're supervising them. No need to wo-"

"No alcohol. Period." She raised the wine and began to drink from it herself. Dunban shook his head. Well, she needed it anyway. Reyn was ridiculous this evening, and she had to scold him more than usual.

Melia giggled. "I must excuse myself. I'll see you all later." Melia bowed and proceeded to leave. As she walked away, Shulk stopped her, touching her shoulder. "Um, Melia?"

"W-What is it?"

The boy scratched his head around the High Entia head armor and released his held breath. "Thank you so much for what you've done for us. We defeated that Telethia in the forest, and we stopped a Mechon invasion... And the Monado is unshackled. We can defeat all Mechon now with this power. And it's all thanks to you."

"O-Oh..." Melia was surprised by his sincere thanks. She was blushing lightly and she covered her cheeks. "I-I... must thank you too. You helped me defeat that Telethia and you too also stopped those Mechon. And you and everyone else was there for me with my ascension to the throne. And you saved me in the High Entia Tomb. I must thank you..."

"Mm. You're welcome." Shulk bowed again. "And thanks for the armor. I figured you had something to do with the designs."

"Wh-Wha- How did-" Melia was astounded at how acute the boy was.

"You have a habit of talking to yourself, you know?" Shulk pointed to the crimson blade that was mounted on his back behind the High Entia armor. _"Right... the Monado can make him see such things..."_

"Ah... hah... well... Looks like it's out then. Anyways, Shulk... how about a drink with me? We'll go for sparkling cider, as a certain ally of yours will have your head if we drank wine."

"Sure, let's go-"

"MELLY! RIKI WANTS TO THANK MELLY FOR ARMOR! MELLY LOOKS PRETTY IN BIRD PEOPLE ARMOR! RIKI LOOKS VERY GOOD IN BIRD PEOPLE ARMOR!" A certain Heropon interrupted the two. Riki, despite having a few glasses of wine, was very energized. He was able to jump high despite the bulky armor. He leaped onto Melia's arms, and she caught him. The weight of Riki and the armor took Melia off guard, and she had to use her knees to regain her balance.

"Oh you sweet thing. You look the greatest of all of us."

"No no, Melly look greatest!"

Shulk chuckled at Riki and Melia's back and forth compliments. The only evening of reprieve. He has to brace himself for what is yet to come. After all, the very reason he set forth on his journey has come back from the other side.

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Reyn and Riki despise wearing the High Entia/Eryth Armor. Riki doesn't like it because it is heavy and he isn't able to jump high or fly, but puts up a content face for Melia's sake. Reyn hates it because it is stuffy and makes him sweat a lot.

2\. Shulk likes wearing the High Entia/Eryth Armor because it made him look sophisticated and high tech. Everyone else teases him for this.

3\. When no one is around her, Melia has a habit of talking and thinking out loud.

**A/N: Out of all of the outfit sets the party wears, I only found the High Entia/Eryth armor the good looking sets. (Also swimsuit). I'm not too fond of the others sadly. But geez, the designers of the game must of had fun designing them because they are so damn pretty! Out of all of the playthroughs I've done in the game, I did High Entia armor only in one playthrough and swimsuit only (excluding head armor, which was High Entia) in the other.**

**Due to classes, my updates for this will be much slower. But still expect to see a one-shot next month. In the mean time, I'll write it slowly but surely. Additionally with some fanart too. Check periodically on my profile. Until then, I appreciate any reviews and criticism, and also ideas. Your ideas may be implemented and will be credited properly.  
**


	13. Entire Party - Hot Spring Shenanigans

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

13\. Entire Party - Hot Spring Shenanigans

Summary: Dunban, Reyn, and Shulk decide to relax in one of Valak Mountain's famous natural hot springs. For some reason, Alvis, Sharla, Melia, and Riki decide to opt out of this time of relaxation. Why would they miss such a great opportunity to unwind? (Takes during the events of Valak Mountain, before the Battle at the Great Glacier. The heart-to-heart event of _A Snowy Hot Spring_ must not have taken place yet.)

Pairings: Shulk x Fiora (Minor), Shulk x Melia (Minor), Reyn x Sharla (Minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Valak Mountain has been the most treacherous location on the Bionis yet. Located on the right arm of the Bionis, it is the only snowy area of the giant Titan. The falling snow and blizzards are commonplace and year round. Alvis had told the party though that the mountain was actually at a time not a snowy place. It was only until after the battle between the Bionis and Mechonis when the ice and wind ether accumulated in such high densities that it formed the icy and snowy terrain (as evident of the ancient High Entia monuments and buildings.)

The brutal low temperatures took a toll on the party, especially Riki. As soon as Riki set foot at the area, he was feeling sick. Despite being covered in fur, he wasn't too warm. He was also tormented with a headache that never left him. Sharla theorized that since he was accustomed to Makna's hot and rainy climate, the snowy and windy climate of Valak Mountain upset his homeostasis. Melia offered to hold onto Riki throughout the trek, which Riki delightfully agreed to. From that, Riki's spirits were lifted, and even his headache faded away.

The rest of the party wasn't at all comfortable either. Despite wearing the insulated High Entia armor, the party was still freezing. Shulk, Dunban, and Reyn were covered up the most, but their heads were exposed, so the cold creeped in and shook their very core. Melia and Sharla had it worse though, as the armor did not cover them fully as it exposed parts of their chest and legs. Dunban noticed Alvis was completely fine though, even though his clothes are very casual. This raised his eyebrow in suspicion, but he dismissed it. Battles were dreadful as the climate sapped their strength, but the party was able to get by with Dunban's judgment, Shulk's visions, Melia's ether, and Sharla's ether bullets. The entire journey was filled with sniffles, runny noses, sneezing, shaking, and forceful exhalation to keep warm.

But there was one thing that lifted everyone's spirits: the presence of hot springs. Reyn begged the party to relax in one of the hot springs in Valak Mountain. Shulk asked Alvis if there were any springs as opposed to geysers, and Alvis lead them to one near Bagnar Snowfield. From there, Reyn proceeded to remove their somewhat insulated Mythril High Entia Armor and jump right into the spring with his swimsuit. After some peer pressure and temptations from the two, Dunban and Shulk reluctantly agreed to join them. Shulk asked for the ladies and Alvis to join as well, but they declined over and over, even at the request of Dunban and the others to get in. After some failed attempts of asking, they simply gave up, undressed themselves into their swimsuits, and just sat around in a circle in the spring. Alvis, Riki, Melia, and Sharla decided to split with the three and meet them later, as Alvis wanted to show the ladies and Riki Nofol Tower, a relic of the High Entia. (Shulk would join them later, as he was interested in this too.)

"Now THIS is the life! Goodness, I can sit here forever if it weren't for our darn journey to beat up Metal Face!" Reyn groaned, stretching out his arms as he lowered his body further into the warm hot spring to the point where the water reached his shoulders. He sighed long as the warmth of the water eased up all his dense muscles in his body.

"It truly is wonderful… This is more relaxing than the waters of Faras Cave." Dunban commented as he stared at the heavenward lights the large pillars of eyes reflected into the night sky. He lifted his left hand from the water and ran his hand down his hair to make it wet.

Shulk proceeded to move towards the center of the hot spring and laid on his back, floating at the center of the spring. He took a deep breath and allowed the steamy water to enter inside him. Truly relaxing and soothing was that scent of water. As he let out his breath, he watched it vaporize and blend into the steamy air that raised itself above. "I have to bring Fiora here sometime…" He muttered as he stared at the starry sky.

"I'll drag Sharla with me too… What you think? Us four in the springs! It'll be great!"

Dunban leered at Reyn at that suggestion, and Reyn flinched in response. "W-What?! What's wrong with that?"

"You can't take a hint, can you…?" Dunban groaned, shaking his head in disapproval. How clueless was this knucklehead? What the Hero of Sword Valley didn't notice was Shulk's face turning red at that suggestion… The Heir to the Monado kept his mouth shut as he continued to stare at the night sky, hopefully not to get Dunban's attention…

—

About half a mile away from the three young men in the springs, Alvis was leading Riki, Melia, and Sharla up a long path near the Agul Mountain Range. This brought great concern to Melia as they were getting too far from the three, who asks, "Um, Alvis? I thought the Nofol Tower was nearby?"

Alvis grinned, stopping his advance. He turned around and smiled, saying. "We won't be far, and Nofol Tower is actually further ways down... I received a request from your little friend here to do a little something to your other friends…"

"What-?" Sharla and Melia asked in unison, looking puzzled at Alvis. They then turned to Riki, who was jumping up and down in excitement.

The Heropon replies, "Riki ask Alvis to do favor! Melly and Sharla will like what Riki planned! Melly and Sharla will laugh! Alvis will laugh too!"

The two ladies' eyes were widened in even more confusion. Something that'll make even Alvis laugh? Now that's truly a first. Melia hasn't ever seen Alvis, the all powerful Seer of the High Entia, laugh lightheartedly before. What on earth could Riki be planning?

"I'm a little worried about this…" Sharla muttered, crossing her arms in disbelief on whatever Riki and Alvis are planning. "It was strange of you to tell me and Melia in advance to not join them in the spring..."

The seer places a hand on Sharla's shoulder in reassurance. "No need to worry. I and your friend will take full responsibility and blame if anything were to happen. Just enjoy. You can proceed to relax in the spring later after this is over." Alvis let go and proceeded to advance up hill near the cliffside of the glacier.

Responsibility? Sharla shrugged and Melia swallowed hard, as they followed the footsteps of the Seer and Heropon.

—

"Can you believe it? I literally lost to an eating contest with one of Riki's kids!" Reyn sighed, scratching his head in frustration with both of his hands.

"I'm… sort of surprised…" Dunban replied, raising his eyebrow on Reyn's silly story. Days ago before venturing to Valak Mountain, the party decided to stay in Frontier Village for a night before their journey to Sword Valley. What Reyn never told, however, was his little Schorl Mushroom eating contest with one of Riki's children. And he lost by a landslide of 31 mushrooms difference.

Shulk, still floating at the center of the spring, raised his head up a little to get a glimpse of Reyn, asks, "Wait… you actually challenged one of Riki's children to something like that? Where did you get all of those mushrooms?"

Reyn crossed his arms, with most of it being submerged in the spring water. "Hm… Me and Melia and some of his kids went gathering them for like an hour. We got like.. 120 of them. They're quite easy to find, actually."

Dunban sighed. "Well… first off: some abilities run in the family. If Riki eats a lot, good chances are his children does too. Second, why didn't you tell us this? You could have gotten his kids hurt if you ran into monsters…"

Reyn unfolded his arms and started waving his left hand back and forth. "No no! It was only right near the village entrance, don't worry about it!"

"Hmph…"

As soon as Reyn finished his explanation, Shulk felt something odd in his back. "W-What…?" As if something was pushing him upwards. It was very light at first, and then the force of whatever he felt on his back grew intense to the point where he nearly lopsided and would have flipped over. Shulk raised the upper part of his body upwards, now wading. "What's going on?"

"Huh? What's up Shulk?" Reyn asked, swimming towards his friend. Dunban was alerted by the two and he also swam towards the Heir to the Monado.

"Did you feel that? As if…"

"As if what?" Dunban asked, glancing around on to see their surroundings. Nothing changed.

It was then Shulk realized that something is very wrong…

"Reyn! Dunban! We need to get out of here! Now!"

"W-What-?" Reyn asked, flustered and now nervous at Shulk's demand. "What you mean we have to go-"

And the three of them realized it too late. As soon as it hit them, their bodies were now surrounded by numerous small bubble formations that surrounded them. The water beneath them was growing hot and moving around viciously. And the steam was growing more dense...

"NO W-!" Reyn was cut off by the roaring sound of water that ensnared the three young men, pushing them upward…

—

Alvis dug his hand into his pockets, awaiting the fruition of his plan. "And here we go… About any time now." He stood a few feet behind Melia, Sharla, and Riki to give them a scenic look

He, Sharla, Melia, and Riki were standing in front of another hot spring. This time, it was on the cliff that was towering above nearby where the boys' were relaxing. Melia was utterly confused as to why Alvis brought them to another spring. Sharla had a good hunch, and Riki was jumping in excitement. Melia asked, "Alvis, what is the meaning of-"

She was interrupted by the loud sound of water. Yards away was the cliffside, and beyond it was a large pillar of water being shot skywards. A geyser! That's what she was looking at. "But why would Alvis want us to see a geyser…?" Melia asked herself.

Sharla was a little surprised to see a geyser somewhat nearby the spring they found, let alone the loud and forceful sound the water made. Besides the water she heard something else… Listening carefully, she finally discerned what it was: screaming?

"…-AAAHHHHHHH—!"

"What on Bionis?!" Sharla yelled, utterly confused on hearing such familiar screams. Three distinct screams too. It was then it hit her. "Alvis, you-"

Riki was jumping in excitement. "HAHA! Reyn, Shulk, and Dundun fly!"

Melia was baffled by Riki's loud comment. "Fly?! You mean-" She looked up. She began to see droplets of water fall onto the pool of water before them. And looking up higher she sees three things out of place…

"W-What-?!"

It happened all too quickly as three giant splashes were made in the hot spring pool before the rest of the party. Sharla and Melia held their arms in front of them to shield themselves from the splashing water. Alvis was standing far enough to get splashed by the falling water, and grinned. He anticipated and planned this moment after all. Riki was hollering in laughter as he jumped in excitement and flailed his ears around. Sharla was even impressed, and she began to laugh as well, clutching her stomach from the growing pain from laughing too hard. Melia giggled. It all came together for her now. _"How impressive for the Seer to plan such a thing..."_ She said to herself.

"AHHH-!" Reyn cried aloud as he broke the surface of the hot spring he landed on. It was much more shallow than the spring below them, as he could stand on it and the water would only reach at the top of his abdominal area. He was waving his hands back and forth, fanning his face. "IT'S HOT-! MY FACE IS MELTING!"

Dunban surfaced from the hot spring, gasping for air and groaned loudly. "How inconceivable! Why was I not fast enough to leave the spring?!"

And lastly the Heir to the Monado resurfaced from the hot water, gasping and panting loudly. He was too out of breath from yelling and holding his breath in as he landed right into the spring to even yell out anything.

"HAHA! Dundun and friends fell for trick! Alvis and Riki win!" Riki declared, jumping into Melia's arms. Melia caught the Heropon and rubbed his stomach. "You and Alvis planned this? How mischievous of you..." She complimented, laughing at Riki's clever antics.

Sharla approached the spring's edge to get a better look at the boys' condition. She knelt down by the waterside and moved around to get a better glimpse of them. "Are you three all right? Did you get burned?"

"What do you think?!" Reyn cried, trying to wipe out the excess water that was falling from his face by shaking his head. He didn't want to touch his own face as it felt like the skin was being ripped off.

Sharla narrowed her eyes to get a better view of them. It doesn't seem like it actually as their faces were only slightly red, and she didn't see any skin peel. She dipped her left hand into the spring water. It wasn't that hot at all. It was only slightly warm, but she'd had to guess that the water at the center of the spring must be somewhat hotter.

"I think you should all be fine after you absorb some earth and ice ether. Give it some time."

Alvis approached the spring and stood next to Sharla. He bowed to the three men and said, "I apologize for tricking you all. It was your little friend here who suggested this."

Reyn, who was standing at the center of the spring, marched towards the water's edge to the rest of the party and growled, "Why you little furball! You're going to pay for this!"

"Owoooh! Reyn is very angry! Should Riki be scared?!" Riki teased, shaking as Melia held onto him. Reyn proceeded to stomp his way towards Melia and lifted the Heropon from his hair. Riki was flailing around, yelling, "Ahh! Reyn is very angry!"

"I sure am, furball! You'll pay for this!" Reyn began to shake Riki side to side from his hair, making Riki cry in dizziness and motion sickness. "Waaaaah-!"

Melia tried to retrieve Riki, but Reyn lifted his left arm higher so Melia could not save the Heropon. She frowned, saying, "Reyn! Don't be so harsh on him!"

"No way, Melia! This furball's gotta pay!"

Sharla slapped her hand on her forehead and groaned, not even bothering to comment on Reyn's behavior.

Dunban shrugged at the weird sight, replying, "Well, who would have thought that I'd get pranked by Riki of all people... How clever."

Shulk scratched his head with his left hand and smiled, saying, "I can't believe I fell for it too. Should have known we were in a geyser all along..."

"Oh?" Alvis raised an eyebrow. Everyone else did too, to the point where Reyn stopped shaking Riki. All eyes were on the Heir to the Monado.

"W-What? You really don't believe me?"

"I-I'd thought you would actually have known that we were on geyser..." Melia replied.

"No..." The boy shook his head. "I really did fall for it. But... Riki, why prank us now?"

Reyn dropped the Heropon to the ground, who in turn jumped onto Melia's arms and was caught. As she rubbed his head, Riki clears his throat. He answers, "After Shulk saw friend in silver armor, Shulk was always sad and angry. Shulk is also not well, always getting hurt in battle because Shulk is not concentrated in battle! Riki thinks that Shulk is too worried for friend in armor that Shulk forget Shulk's health! How can Shulk save friend if Shulk is not in best health? Riki learned from Nopon friends that harmless tricks make friends feel like better because of laughing! Riki plays joke on littlepon and other Nopon to make all feel better! Riki wanted to make Shulk better to play trick to make Shulk feel better! And Reyn too, because Riki wants to laugh at Reyn!"

"Oi!" Reyn called out on Riki, angrily. "What kind of a sick motive is that, furball?!"

"And that wasn't exactly ... "harmless..."" Dunban muttered under his breath. Sharla had to giggle at his comment.

Melia was speechless at Riki's explanation and observation. She hadn't herself noticed that Shulk was lagging in battle, and she never would have crossed her mind that it was all because of Fiora that he was acting reckless in battle. And he tried to make him feel better? The execution could have been better but...

"W-Wow..." Shulk was mesmerized by Riki's keen insight too. He never noticed it himself either on how rash he was in battle. Now he thought about it, no wonder he was always sore and tired, both physically and mentally, after battles since their encounter with Metal Face back in Prison Island.

"There could have been better ways to do this but..." He rubbed Riki's head. "Thank you, Riki. How thoughtful of you... And I kind of do feel better from relaxing in the spring."

"Yay! Riki happy!" Riki giggled.

And a gust of wind stopped all movements in the party, sending chills all throughout, especially on the three young men only wearing swimsuits.

"Brrr-! Great, now I'm freezing again!" Reyn complained, shivering as he wrapped his arms around his chest. He then ran towards the spring and sat down, sighing with relief as the warmth came back to him. "Ahhh-! There we go!"

Shulk proceeded to go back to the spring too, sitting at the center and sighing with relief as the water reached his neck. Dunban decided it was enough and he stood up from the spring and approached Sharla. "I think I'm done with relaxing after all that. I should get changed."

"O-Oh..." She pointed at the water's edge, there sitting a large bag. "Your armor is in there. You can change into it... err... somewhere else."

"Right. Thanks."

Melia shivered. She turned to Alvis, asking, "Can we be assured there is no geyser here?"

Alvis nodded. "Yes. You may all relax here without any worries. I shall stand out here as lookout. And no need to worry about me, I'm fine."

"Thank you, Seer."

After hearing Alvis' answer, an idea hit Reyn, and he had a cocky grin on his face. He turns around to face Sharla, asking, "Hey Sharla? Want to join me, Dunban, and Shulk in the spring too?"

Sharla narrowed her eyes at the boy and crossed her arms. Her excitement for the relaxing in the spring diminished immediately after she saw Reyn's smile. "...No. I'll just keep watch with Alvis."

"Um... me too..." Melia added, also noticing Reyn's cocky smile.

"Okay... A loss is a loss!" Reyn slumped down a little and sighed, feeling the soreness from falling from the sky fading away.

Melia, Riki, Sharla, Dunban, and Alvis proceeded to walk away from the hot spring. As they walked, Alvis chuckled lightly. Sharla immediately knew. She frowned asking, "Alvis... are you serious?"

"Well... I'm not a humorous type of person. But, after seeing your little friend's joke, I decided to try it once for myself. It'll be a while to meet up with them, so let's hasten ourselves."

Dunban sighed as Melia stared at Alvis with wide eyes in shock, Riki giggling, and Sharla shaking her head in disappointment.

"Looks like I dodged a bullet there..." He muttered. It was only a matter of time that the two boys would get shot in the air... again.

* * *

Headcanons:

1\. Riki is actually a good prankster, as he successfully pranked the rest of the party at least once, even Dunban. He especially loves doing pranks on Reyn.

2\. Riki does harmless pranks to his fellow Nopon, even his children. He did it to Oka once, and she got extremely angry, hence he never did a prank to Oka ever again.

**A/N: Sorry for the drop of quality on this oneshot, as it was a result of the lack of creativity lately. I got extremely busy with exams thrown at me and New York Comic Con took place recently.**

**With more brutal schoolwork and my other fanfiction that is posted here being updated with its next chapter, I'm not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully by the end of the month. Additionally, the release of _Tales of Zestiria_ will get me sidetracked on writing...  
**

**Until then for next update, I appreciate any reviews and criticism and ideas. Your ideas may be implemented in future one-shots and will be credited if used.**


	14. Fiora, Melia, Shulk - Through the Mirror

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

14\. Fiora, Melia, Shulk - Through the Mirror  


Summary: A peculiar item was dropped by a certain beast… and it was far more horrifying than it seems because when two certain people see its true purpose, it will shake them to their very core... (Takes place after the events of Mechonis Core and Colony 6 invasion, before the infiltration of Bionis' Interior.)

Pairings: Shulk x Fiora (Minor)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

The Imperial Capital Alcamoth is the most advanced city on Bionis. The floating city was enormous, and armed with anti-Mechon artillery and a large shield that was almost impenetrable, as well as the beautiful architecture, the city has no match.

But now it is a hellhole. Overrun by Telethia, which they are considered as something equivalent to white blood cells of a body, they are beings that protects the Bionis… destroying any pathogen in its way. And unfortunately those pathogens are what Zanza has said to the party earlier as the Homs. But Shulk and his six companions are more than capable of stopping those beings and are able to defend themselves with their skill and the power of the Replica Monado, in which had different variants depending on the situation.

Dispatching them was no easy feat despite being able to hold ground against them, especially for Melia. Formerly High Entia, Melia couldn't help but feel that this was genocide of her own kind. And killing each Telethia was more blood of her former friends on her hands. With each ether attack and strike of her staff, Melia felt her soul break. And the rest of the party were nearly guilty as she was.

"Kaelin…" Melia muttered as she lowered her staff. She also lowered her head and went down on her knees, closing her eyes. "May you find peace… with Lecrough, Galdo and Donnis…"

Mounting their weapons, the entire party sighed as they finished the last of Rozeal's request. It was nothing but fighting hordes of Telethia the past few hours. It was painful and tiring (especially for Melia), that the hordes Telethia were all after their blood as soon as they set foot on Eryth Sea and the Alcamoth.

"Riki no like it in Bird People city… Riki and friends finished job. Riki thinks Riki and friends should leave now!" Riki groaned, lowering his ears.

"The furball has a point… This place gives me the creeps now…" Reyn added, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Sharla, who was standing next to him, noticed a small gash at the side of Reyn's left elbow. Dripping a little bit with blood, she sighed. "Reyn, you're bleeding."

Reyn looked down to see his left arm since Sharla was staring at it. He lifted it a bit to get a better view of his arm, and he saw it. It was barely noticeable though at his angle, and he didn't feel blood. He must have brushed it off or the adrenaline didn't fade out yet.

"Oh uh… didn't notice. Thought it was sweat or something."

"Here, here…"

As Sharla used a handkerchief to wipe away the blood and wrap it around the wound, a few feet away, Dunban noticed Melia, who was still on her knees, raise her head. Approaching her, he offered his left hand. "Here."

"Thank you, Dunban." She lifted herself up as she took Dunban's hand and pulled her up gently. I am fine as well, if you're wondering… I've made my peace with them. And… I guess pretty much with everyone else."

The former Hero of Colony 9 nodded. "Good. And yes, let's make our leave here with haste. This place must be killing you. We've done our job here for Rozeal, we're exhausted, and we're not clear of danger yet."

"Right…"

As the party began to make their way back into the audience chamber, Shulk noticed something on the ground shining from where Kaelin Telethia fell and vanished into thin air. "Hm?"

He approached the shining object and knelt down to get a view of it. It was piece of glass that was twice the size of Shulk's hand. So the light he saw was the glass reflecting on it.

Picking the glass up, he looked at the object and stood upright. As he rotated in the back of the glass, it had a base of a different material of sorts, but couldn't tell what it was. The other side of it reflected the background of Shulk, which was the terrace. "A mirror maybe…?"

But there was something odd about it and Shulk couldn't quite put his finger on it even as he examined it closely.

"Shulk? What is that?" Fiora approached the Heir to the Monado and glanced at the object on his hand.

"Glass or a mirror… I think. But there's something strange about it…"

"Hmm…" Fiora took a peek at the glass as she examined it carefully. Shulk stared at Fiora's as she tried to peer closer at the mirror. He hated to admit that he liked seeing Fiora's peculiar-looking face when she narrowed her eyes and frowned in frustration as she tried to figure out what she's looking at. It looked cute (and it was something he got teased a bunch of times from Reyn and Fiora herself.) to him, and he couldn't help but crack a small smile too. She stood next to Shulk, lowered her head, and took the glass with her right hand from the boy to get a better look at the glass… and it was then her mechanical heart stopped.

"N-No… No…" She muttered, nearly inaudible.

"F-Fiora…?! What-" Shulk's little smile turned quickly into frown. He looked down at the glass to see what Fiora was seeing.

And he felt his heart stop too.

With the background of the sky terrace, Fiora was staring at herself… her own reflection. But what made her freeze in fear was the fact that her reflection wasn't an exact reflection of how she looked physically. She sees her face and all but… her hair was long. The black and gray colored Ether V goggles and frame was missing. Meyneth's core was missing. What she saw, was her old self in everyday Colony 9 clothes. Her Homs body. What's more is that there was dark red to black bloodstains from the area that Metal Face, or rather Mumkhar, stabbed her.

"It can't-"

Shulk felt like has drowning in air. Fiora's reflection was a shock but his own was just as bad, if not worse in a different sense.

Fiora's grip on the mirror tightened to the point where she was cracking the mirror's edge. "S-Shulk… th-thi-this… is…"

The boy couldn't even talk, let alone breathe from his realization either. "..."

"What's going on?!" Dunban cried out with him, Melia, Riki, Sharla, and Reyn running towards them.

"No-!" Fiora cried out, halting the rest of the party's advance. "P-Please… let's just go!" She angrily demanded, throwing the object on the ground. A loud smashing sound echoed across the terrace and scattered to many pieces. The shards scattered from inches to feet away from Fiora. Some of the shards even sprawled to Melia's feet, who was standing the closest to the pair. The rest of the party gaped at Fiora's anxiety.

Dunban was the most concerned, asking, "Fiora, what's wrong-"

"We must leave! NOW!" She growled, now covering her face with her mechanical hands as she dashed out of the terrace.

"H-Hey! Fiora!" Reyn and Sharla cried in unison as they ran after her.

Dunban, Riki, and Melia stared at Shulk and the glass that were scattered in front of his feet. His head hung down, they couldn't see his face very well. But it was obvious that whatever they were looking at clearly made them upset.

Melia took a step forward to approach Shulk, but stopped. "S-Shulk… you…"

"M-Melia… we have to go after Fiora… I'm right behind you."

"O-Okay… Come on, you two…"

Riki, the happiest member of the group, was growing sick with worry. "Shulk will follow… okay…" The Heropon moved an about face and waddled slowly out of the terrace and approached the audience chamber. Dunban wanted to say something else, but words couldn't come out.

"Catch up with us, Shulk…" Dunban said aloud as he ran off to join Reyn and Sharla.

"It can't be…" Melia muttered, realizing something horrible.

Before they accepted Rozeal's request, Melia talked to some of the High Entia that were spared from their cruel fate. She overheard a conversation about a rumored mirror that was peculiar, and it showed someone's soul as opposed to a reflection. She dismissed it because none of the High Entia actually seen the mirror, held, or looked at one. But now…

Melia noticed the shards… and it hit her. A sickening feeling that burned her stomach was crawling up as she had to turn around from the sheer thought and realization. _"No… the mirror the others were talking about… was true…?"_ She walked away from Shulk and left the terrace, tightening the fist she made with her right hand. _"I don't even want to know what they saw, let alone what I would see if I look through it..."_ As she walked away, she didn't look down to see a quick flash of a reflection of herself that showed a blue-green body with yellow wings, though only on the left side of her body...

Shulk, his head still hung down, slowly raised it up. Closing his eyes and taking a slow, pained, and deep breath, he let it out. As he opened his eyes, he finally mustered the strength to get the hell out of the terrace, let alone away from the mirror shards that was around him. No one was there to notice his eyes glow a bright blue in loathing and anger.

Because what he saw in that mirror… was no reflection at all.

* * *

Headcanon: The Telethia Mirror reflects the soul instead of the physical appearance. Fiora's reflection showed her former Homs self since she longed to be back to her Homs body, but it is broken because of Metal Face. Melia's reflection showed half of a Telethia since she is a hybrid Hom and High Entia. Shulk's reflection had nothing since he has been dead for 14 years.

**A/N: A HORRIFYINGLY DEPRESSING HEADCANON. I read the description of this object in the game a while back and I thought about it about it hard... and it is quite scary thinking about seeing your own soul instead. That's nightmare fuel for sure.  
**

**This is a short headcanon because there's not much story I could think of and well, I'm out of juice when it comes to writing. Even my usual writing with some detail hasn't been good cause I'm really out of it. I haven't written anything in a loooongg while. And been busy with school and Tales of Zestiria. AND GOODNESS XENOBLADE X IS LOOMING IN THE CORNER I AM EXCITE. **

**I have ideas for the next oneshots but its going to be tough to write them cause it's really hard to write the main meat of it... So I have no idea when the next update will be. Until then, reviews and criticism are welcome and I am open to suggestions. Your ideas may be implemented and will be credited if used with permission.  
**


	15. Dickson, Alvis, Lorithia - Waiting

**Untold Stories, Unsung Words**

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

15\. Dickson, Alvis, Lorithia - Waiting

Summary: Pregame. Slight tie-in with the oneshot _Rebirth._ After Zanza is sealed by the High Entia royal family, his loyal disciples could only wait for their lord to return…

Pairings: None

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

The newly built Ose Tower was emptied out, only with the High Entia high counsel member and the strange Hom stood in its ceremonial hall. Located on the Bionis' right arm, the climate of the entire area completely changed recently as the battle between the Bionis and Mechonis just ended. Large amounts of ice and wind ether as well as the lack of fire ether accumulated in the entire arm, changing the climate that was similar to Gaur Plain to a frigid wasteland. It was a perfect place to build Ose Tower to hide away the sacred crimson blade as in addition to the dangerous climate, powerful monsters now roam the mountain range. The interior of the tower was a dull gray, but it was intricately made with its perfect symmetry. And deep within its halls is the crimson blade shimmered in blue light as it stood silently.

Just hours earlier, High Entia Emperor Ilian sealed the Monado in the new Ose Tower. After years raged of the Mechonis and Bionis fighting a seemingly endless battle, a final blow was delivered as that ended in a draw. As soon as Zanza, who possessed Arglas, was severely weakened and lost mobility of the Bionis, Emperor Ilian and members of the High Entia royal family immediately used much of their power to seal Zanza in Arglas' body in Prison Island. The royal family also swore to never reveal the location of the Monado so that no one could take the blade. The only ones who knew of its location were the royal family themselves and the highest members of the high counsel including Lorithia, and Alvis.

Lorithia let out a low growl in disgust. "Now we must wait? This could take years… centuries even just for our lord to return…"

"Patience, Lorithia. As Zanza said, it will happen in our time as shown in the passage of fate. I have seen it too as I touched the Monado. He will return."

She made a fist with her left hand. After watching her own brethren slaughtered by the Machina's retaliation, she feared that that the Machina will invade Bionis and kill her and her people. But Zanza reassured her that it would not be the case…

"I trust him. After seeing his power, I truly believe he will grant me immortality as he promised me so long as I remain obedient to him. But waiting will be a chore…"

"…" Alvis remained silent at her statement.

A dull sound was heard. The two glanced at the entrance to see a very unfamiliar face. But the voice was definitely recognizable.

"So the birdie and the pretty boy beat me here. Hmph, my age is getting to me…"

The man that stood before Alvis and Lorithia was a Homs. About the Homs age of 44 but looking much older, he had blonde hair that reached his collarbone with a mustache too. He wore a red bandana across his forehead and a blue long sleeve with a dark gray vest and light gray pants. Accessories he wore were a red bag that hung on his left leg and his notable large circular necklace, which also gave his identity away since his former Giant form wore one too. His belt looked a bit like his necklace in terms of designs of the circular pattern.

Lorithia groaned in disappointment while Alvis had a slight smirk on his face. Lorithia shook her head, saying with pity, "Taking a form of a Hom won't make me thinking more highly of you, Giant."

"Still the sour bird you are, Lorithia. And I got a new name, you know. Name's Dickson. Gotta go undercover until Lord Zanza comes back. I also don't wanna be chained up like Arglas."

"How fitting of a name for you." The High Entia teased, a large cocky grin streaked across her face.

Dickson frowned, though he had seen that response coming miles away. Alvis sighed, shaking his head. "Please, Lorithia. Show some respect. We're all allies after all."

Lorithia rolled her eyes. She asks, "I should ask about the form you take… Why a Homs? And also, why the old man appearance as well? With your ego, I would assume you would take a younger form."

Dickson retrieved a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. Lighting it up, he took a puff from the cigarette and exhaled, watching the white smoke vaporize in the air. He answers, "I dunno. This is the look that Lord Zanza chose for me. Said my personality and guts reminded him of someone that he heard about. Eh… I'll live with it."

Lorithia raises an eyebrow in confusion. Dickson cleared his throat as he turned to Alvis, asking, "So, you're the Hom that Lord Zanza was closely acquainted with cause you have visions like he does. What did you see about him? He's coming back, right?"

"Yes." Alvis nodded. "Zanza will come back in our lifetime, though I am not sure when. It'll be different this time around."

The Seer approached the Monado and touched the Monado at the edge of its blade. Images began to flash in his mind: Arglas being freed from his shackles, the Mechonis being destroyed by the Monado, finally Zanza in his true form wielding both his and Meyneth's Monado, smiling. "At the last second, Zanza has split his soul into two. A small portion within Arglas. The rest within the Monado. Zanza has told me this information to pass onto you both: unlike Arglas, he will allow his next vessel to retain his sense of self. In this way, it will be easier for Zanza under the guise of the vessel to destroy Mechonis because the vessel will have his own free will and intentions."

Dickson scratched his head. He understood the free will portion, but a bunch of questions loomed in his mind. Lorithia raised an eyebrow in concern as well. "Who will be the vessel, Alvis?" Lorithia asked.

"...All I can say that it will be... ironic..."

"...You and your vague answers, Alvis... It's getting old..." Dickson groaned. "But probably I can watch over this vessel of his, just to make sure that nothing will happen to the vessel until the time is right. Also could keep a close eye on those Machina survivors from Agniratha. Heard they relocated to the Fallen Arm…"

Lorithia adds, "I can make sure that the High Entia will not know of Zanza's soul being split. I can also, over time, make sure that none of the High Entia will interfere."

"I suppose." Alvis answered, nodding. "I'll be working alongside Lorithia with the High Entia, as they recently hired me to be their seer in her suggestion."

Dickson shook his head. "How cold of you, birdie. Not going to invite me in your little party?"

Lorithia frowned, replying, "You got your own job to do, Giant. As you said, you volunteered yourself to watch over Lord Zanza's vessel. I'd say that's more responsibility than the rest of us."

The old man just realized Alvis' added comment to Lorithia's suggestion, so he asks the seer, "Wait, the High Entia only hired you recently to become their Seer? Thought you were already affiliated with them, considering how you were acquainted with them earlier."

Alvis shook his head. "They at first didn't believe me and my visions. But after I told them that the Bionis and Mechonis' battle will end in a stalemate and draw, that is when they began to believe me."

Lorithia crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "I myself am suspicious of your origins, Alvis. You were Lord Zanza's first disciple and have been working closely with him. Also, you are the only normal person in the whole world who has visions. Only Lord Zanza, and even that Machine goddess Meyneth has them. Why is it only you who has such abilities?"

The Seer glanced at the Monado. "As I said to you and Emperor Ilian, I simply came in contact with the Monado years ago, and I was granted the ability. My family was a longline family of seers, with only a very select few who are granted its powers. They have all passed on, and only I remain."

"...Whatever you say, Alvis..." Lorithia muttered.

The cold, dull, empty room was beginning to bother to Lorithia, as she was also growing impatient at this long waiting game. The High Entia began to walk towards Dickson who stood closest to the exit as the ambiance of the area was making her feel uneasy. "I'll be leaving for the Alcamoth. I'll meet with you later, Alvis."

The two men watched Lorithia leave the Ose Tower, hearing nothing but the clicking of her heels that echoed in the hallway. Dickson groaned as soon as she left the tower and took another whiff of his cigarette. "A seer, huh? Tell me, boy, you've always had the power to see the future, didn't you? Touching the Monado was just a cover up, was it? I noticed back when Lord Zanza was beating the crap out of that Machina goddess."

Alvis was showing a slight grin. "Perhaps."

Dickson narrowed his eyes at the young man. He was always annoyed by his short answers, and other times Alvis' answers are vague and cryptic that he was obviously hiding or foreshadowing something. And Alvis was extremely damn good at it. Even tricky word plays, convincing, and back and forth conversations couldn't have Alvis spill anything he was hiding. The only information Dickson could get out of him was the information Alvis was willing to give. Hence, he gave up and stopped bothering to press Alvis for info.

"Tough nut you are, Alvis… No wonder Zanza chose ya." Dickson waved his right hand, signaling his departure. "Well, I just came here to see where the Monado's at. When I meet the Homs that'll be Zanza's vessel, I'll give them the little push they need by leading them here and bam!" Dickson smacked his right fist with his left palm, as if he's ready to punch something. "They'll be as good as dead and our lord will return. Anyways, I'll see you when I drop by the Alcamoth, Alvis. Can't wait to see what'll unfold."

"Likewise. We will meet again later, Dickson."

Alvis watched the old man leave Ose Tower, and soon it was only him in the Tower. The Seer placed his hand on the edge of the Monado's blade. Images began to flash again in his mind and they were new visions. A group of Homs… a small boy… and the boy again but this time aged into an adolescent young man… And he bore a striking resemblance to Zanza, face and all. The only difference was that his hair was shorter and the cut was slightly styled differently. And lastly an image of the said boy holding onto the Monado in two hands, furrowed eyebrows arched downward, tightened lips forming a large frown, and glowing blue eyes.

"So, that is the one you will choose. If that is what you wish."

Alvis retreated his hand and stared his palm. Closing his fist, he closed his eyes and smiled.

_"When the time comes, you must decide if this world belongs to you, as the world will be made onto your will… "_

* * *

Headcanons

1\. Fearing death, Lorithia willingly becomes a disciple of Zanza for immortality.

2\. Lorithia suggested to the royal High Entia family to hire Alvis as a seer because of his visions.

3\. Dickson assumed a Homs form after the battle between Zanza and Meyneth ended. He was always in his original Giant form, but only took the Homs form to remain in hiding and changed his name to Dickson when he turned into a Homs. He never told anyone what it was and everyone simply called him Giant. Only Zanza knows his true name.

4\. Dickson's Hom appearance was given by Zanza. Zanza chooses this appearance because his tough personality reminded him of someone from his past that he once heard about.

5\. Alvis is very cryptic and vague of his visions towards Lorithia and Dickson. Alvis would reveal his visions in detail to Zanza only, but will withhold any visions relating to his demise.

6\. It is Dickson who revealed the location of the Monado to the Shulk's father, who is the head of the Homs Expedition Team that originally came from Colony 1. This leads to the events of the game.

**A/N: A very short headcanon and oneshot in suggestion with a reader. I couldn't get the full request in in terms of a headcanon for Alvis relating to Zanza, Meyneth, and Shulk, cause I'm drawing blanks... but I managed to squeeze something with between Alvis, Lorithia, and Dickson. (More on Dickson though.) True, I haven't written anything about Alvis, let alone Lorithia, yet, so this was one thing that was in my mind. Unfortunately, I don't think I can think of any more headcanons about Alvis and Lorithia at the moment. (Dickson is much easier, as he had much more screentime compared to the other three.)**

**I was able to squeeze this headcanon oneshot in such a short period of time because I didn't have too much of a plot/conflict/conclusion thing running in my head. I thought "Well, at some point the three disciples would meet at some point before the game... what better timing when right after Zanza was sealed?" And then this came about. And school gave me some time to relax and do whatever the hell I want cause yay, some relax time before Thanksgiving. Mayyyybbeee I can get something out during the Thanksgiving break.**

**BUUUUUTT... XENOBLADE X IS APPROACHING AND MY HYPE IS TOO DAMN HIGH. As soon as the game comes out, I will be on a hiatus for a bit as I play the living crap out of it. Hopefully as I play I can get some ideas running in my head. The hiatus will be shorter if some recommendations will be given to me. As mentioned many times before, I appreciate any criticism and reviews. Your ideas may be implemented with credit.**


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